AI is rapidly reshaping the balance of power in marketing. But according to Gartner, the technology does not act as a democratic equalizer giving everyone the same opportunities. Instead, AI risks widening the gap between companies with mature digital strategies and those that lack the right skills, data and technical infrastructure.
At the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo 2026 in London, speakers painted a clear picture of a market where a small number of players are pulling ahead at high speed, while the majority still struggle to turn AI investments into tangible business outcomes.
Although marketing leaders today allocate roughly 15 percent of their budgets to AI, only about 30 percent of organizations are considered ready to implement the technology at scale.
Only 3 percent qualify as “Genius Brands”
During the conference’s Signature Series, Matt Moorut, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, presented findings from an extensive analysis of 1,000 global brands. Just 3 percent qualified for the “Genius Brands” category.
The gap between top performers and the rest of the market is dramatic. According to Gartner, these leading brands are searched for on Google twelve times more often and generate nearly nineteen times more website visits than their competitors.
But success is not mainly about producing more AI-generated content.
The leading companies use AI to strengthen organizational capabilities, efficiency and technical agility. While many organizations continue to shrink their marketing teams, the most successful are investing in specialists in marketing technology, data analytics and automation.
The focus is on building faster, more adaptable organizations where AI is integrated directly into workflows, decision-making and customer experiences.
AI also increases the risk of misinformation
Another core theme at the conference was how AI is changing the information landscape while raising the risks of misinformation and manipulated messages.
Andrew Frank, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner, described AI as an “amplifier of brand risk.” Since modern AI search and answer engines no longer merely index information but also interpret, summarize and present it as ready-made answers, incorrect information can spread rapidly.
According to Frank, traditional crisis management and classic PR are no longer sufficient.
Instead, he emphasized the need for what Gartner calls TrustOps—an operational approach to continuously monitor, verify and protect brand-related information.
With TrustOps, organizations can spot inaccuracies within minutes and publish human-vetted rebuttals within a few hours.
“Without TrustOps, even the most carefully crafted marketing strategy can be overshadowed by targeted misinformation within a matter of hours,” Frank warned.
Trust becomes more important than reach
As AI makes content faster, cheaper and easier to produce, what actually creates competitive advantage is shifting.
Amy Abatangle, Vice President Analyst at Gartner, stressed that AI can simulate closeness and personalized communication, but it cannot create genuine human connection or real trust.
That means companies that build strong relationships, expertise and credibility will gain a much larger advantage in the AI era.
Gartner frames this shift as a move toward Human Experience (HX), where authenticity, expertise, relationships and reliability become central to the brands of the future.
“When trust becomes scarce, brands must stop chasing reach and instead build signals of credibility,” Abatangle said.
AI also changes visibility in search and algorithms
The consequences extend beyond marketing and brand building.
As AI-powered search engines and answer systems become more important, they change how companies are discovered digitally. Brands with strong credibility, high-quality information and clear expertise signals are more likely to be prioritized in AI-generated answers and recommendations.
This means the battle for online visibility will increasingly be decided by trust, data quality and technical maturity rather than by advertising or sheer content volume.
For many organizations, this marks the start of a new AI-driven competitive dynamic where the gap between winners and losers may widen much faster than before.