Canadian marketers boost AI use as readiness rises

The Canadian Marketing Association has released its 2026 Canadian Marketers' AI Readiness Report, which found that 51 per cent of Canadian marketers now use artificial intelligence at work daily or more often.

The report measures AI readiness across four areas: openness, knowledge and skills, application ability, and risk and ethics awareness. The overall score rose to 51 in 2026 from 48 a year earlier, with three of the four measures improving.

AI use is also shifting towards more complex tasks. The share of marketers reporting only basic uses such as search, proofing and simple writing fell to 22 per cent from 38 per cent, while the proportion using AI for automation, complex analysis and code rose to 29 per cent from 19 per cent.

Application ability posted the largest annual gain, rising eight points to 52. Risk and ethics awareness also rose by eight points to 48, suggesting adoption is being matched by more formal attention to governance and oversight.

Organisational AI policies also appear to be becoming clearer. More than one-third of respondents, or 35 per cent, said their employer's AI policy was "very clear", up from 26 per cent in the previous report.

Training improved as well. The proportion of respondents who described training as "very effective" doubled to 24 per cent, while the share receiving no AI training fell to 24 per cent from 38 per cent.

Hands-on learning emerged as the most valued approach. Respondents rated practical exercises and real-world examples above general instruction, followed by clear guidelines and role-specific use cases.

Knowledge and skills rose four points to 52. Nearly three-quarters of marketers can state a clear goal when prompting AI, though the report pointed to further work in giving context, structuring prompts and using techniques such as iteration and constraints.

Growing use

The findings suggest marketers are moving beyond early experimentation. Confidence in AI's practical value increased across all major benefit categories measured, including efficiency and time savings, task automation, content creation, and data analysis.

That shift comes as AI becomes more embedded in day-to-day work. The survey covered 338 Canadian marketers across in-house teams, agencies and organisations of different sizes, from solo operators to large businesses.

Esther Benzie, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Marketing Association, said the latest results showed broad progress while highlighting the next areas of focus.

"Canadian marketers have made meaningful progress in how they use and manage AI over the past year. We're seeing greater adoption, stronger skills and much more deliberate approaches to responsible AI use. At the same time, this research gives us a clear view of where the next opportunities lie. These insights will help the CMA continue to support marketers as AI becomes an increasingly important part of the profession," said Esther Benzie, President & Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Marketing Association.

Openness slips

One measure moved in the opposite direction. AI openness fell eight points to 52, making it the only dimension in the study to decline.

The report linked the decline to the pace of organisational change as employers and staff adapt to new tools and expectations. It identified four priorities for the sector: strengthening prompting skills, closing policy gaps, treating AI adoption as a change management issue, and making training more practical and specific.

Steve Mast, Managing Partner at twenty44, said the pattern suggested a maturing market rather than simple growth in usage.

"Canadian marketers aren't simply using AI more-they're getting better at applying it to meaningful work. We're seeing basic usage decline while more sophisticated applications grow. Canadian marketers are already ahead of the average knowledge worker in several important areas. The opportunity now is to build on that momentum with hands-on coaching that helps people apply AI to their real workflows and turn today's early wins into everyday capabilities," said Steve Mast, Managing Partner at twenty44.

The research was produced in partnership with strategy and used twenty44's AI readiness assessment platform. Respondents were drawn from agencies and in-house teams across the Canadian marketing sector.