The AI Confidence Gap

A B2B marketing AI paradox: Confidence is dropping as skills rise

Marketers are learning the tools. But they’re still unsure of their place.

Between January and mid-April 2025, Watchtower—Intercept’s proprietary AI-powered research platform—analyzed public digital conversations from over 328,000 B2B marketers worldwide to uncover signals shaping how teams are thinking, talking, and feeling about AI.

Skill development is clearly on the rise: B2B marketers are actively exploring new tools, building AI into daily workflows, and refining prompting techniques. Content solutions are accelerating and gaining sophistication. Many teams are finding ways to integrate AI into campaigns and production.

However, momentum hasn’t translated to stability. In the study’s six adoption pillars, Job Confidence—how secure and supported marketers feel in their roles—ranked lowest.

Meanwhile, Individual AI Proficiency was among the highest ranked. These represent the widest gap across any category pairing in the index.

Without shared standards or clear direction from leadership, even experienced marketers are raising important questions:

• What does success with AI look like?
• Where should I take initiative, and where is guidance still needed?

Marketers are requesting specific AI guidelines, flagging friction in role designations, and hesitating to fully adopt tools without leadership endorsement. While AI use is spreading organically, many teams lack frameworks to assure long-term legitimacy.

Leaders can define purpose

Confidence doesn’t come from tools alone. It demands context—clear explanation about what AI is for, how it fits, where it’s going. It’s here that leadership can play a clarifying role.

Framing the “why” behind AI

While most teams are familiar with what AI can do, fewer have a sense of why they’re using it—beyond improving efficiency.

A shared narrative can help connect adoption efforts to broader goals. Whether AI is being introduced to scale content, free up creative time, or accelerate speed to market, purpose matters. When teams understand the bigger picture, adoption can feel more intentional.

Delineating roles and responsibilities

After getting access to tools, teams could benefit from explicit guidance about how responsibilities are divided between AI and human input.

This might include mapping tasks across the marketing function and considering:

• Where can AI help scale or simplify repeatable work?
• Where is human insight, judgment, or nuance required?
• Where might human-AI collaboration be most effective—with appropriate oversight?

Outlining these boundaries can support more consistent execution, and reduce ambiguity about how roles evolve.

Revisiting performance metrics

Traditional KPIs may not fully reflect the value of AI-supported work. For example, a marketer using AI to accelerate iteration or refine messaging might be creating more impact—without increasing output volume.

In these cases, updating metrics to reflect new workflows and outcomes could provide a more accurate view of contribution. Or support a culture where thoughtful use of AI is encouraged, not merely as a means to speed production.

Bringing teams into the conversation

Rather than introducing AI top-down, many organizations are creating space for teams to share input and shape adoption efforts. Examples include internal AI working groups, department-level leads, or regular forums to exchange use cases, challenges, and learnings.

When teams feel included in the process, they’re often more engaged by the results.

From experimentation to alignment

The Q2 Brief makes one point clear: AI in B2B marketing isn’t slowing down. But without organizational clarity, adoption can feel more like improvisation than strategy.

If marketers are gaining skills but losing confidence, it’s not a sign of resistance. It’s a signal that teams are moving faster than their frameworks—and that leadership needs to catch up.

That’s why the Q2 Trends Brief doesn’t stop at insight. It poses five strategic questions designed to help teams move from scattered tool usage to intentional, aligned adoption. These aren’t checklist items. They’re conversation starters meant to help leaders shape structure, provide direction, and guide meaningful change.

Conversation is what turns experimentation into strategy. Our brief is designed to help you get there, with suggestions for practical dialogue that can build confidence over time.

Want the full breakdown of how B2B marketers are navigating AI?

Download the Q2 AI Trends Brief