AI speeds marketing production, but measurement lags

AI is speeding up marketing production. Measurement hasn’t kept pace.

Marketers are 68% more likely to measure email and landing page performance by click-through rate than by revenue or pipeline influenced, according to a new report from marketing production platform Knak. The finding exposes a gap between adopting AI and measuring its business impact.

Only 29% of respondents rated their organizations as advanced AI adopters. That group was more likely to use AI agents to build and code emails and landing pages, conduct brand and compliance checks, and handle translation and localization. Other respondents were more likely to use AI for first drafts of email and landing page copy, or to generate images.

Even among organizations further along with AI adoption, measuring business impact remains a challenge.

One in three marketers said they consistently meet or exceed performance targets for email and landing page campaigns. Meanwhile, 69% measure click-through rates, compared with 41% tracking revenue or pipeline influence.

Clicks help teams diagnose campaign performance. They do not show whether the marketing-generated pipeline influenced an opportunity or contributed to revenue.

According to the report, most enterprise marketing automation and CRM platforms can connect email engagement with opportunity records. The challenge is not necessarily access to the data, but building the processes and reporting needed to use it.

Adoption is not the differentiator

AI use is already widespread. Execution is becoming the dividing line.

Respondents who rated their organizations as advanced AI adopters were more likely to use structured project management tools and native approval workflows. They were also more willing to buy a dedicated tool when they identified a capability gap rather than force an existing platform to handle the work.

At the same time, 88% of respondents said AI-generated marketing content still requires moderate or substantial editing before it can be used. AI may accelerate production, but it has not removed the need for review, governance, and human judgment.

The question is no longer whether to adopt AI. It is whether their workflows, governance, and measurement practices are mature enough to turn faster production into better business results.

Methodology: Datalily conducted the research through Centiment on behalf of Knak. The survey included 333 marketing decision-makers in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, including Knak customers. The survey ran from April 29 to May 18, 2026. Respondents worked at companies with at least $50 million in annual revenue, sent at least five marketing emails per month, and used an enterprise marketing automation platform.

The report can be downloaded here. (Registration required.)