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While CMOs widely acknowledge that artificial intelligence is an industry “game-changer,” a similar portion report that they are facing challenges in integrating the technology, according to a new survey from IBM.

The IBM Institute for Business Value’s global study of 1,800 marketing and sales executives (including 72 from Canada and 216 from the U.S.), shows that 81% of CMO respondents view AI as a game-changer. However, 84% report that challenges with rigid, fragmented operations limit their ability to effectively harness the technology.

IBM numbers show that 65% of CMOs agree AI-literate talent is critical for achieving high priority objectives, yet only 21% of respondents believe they have the talent needed to achieve their goals for the next two years.

The report reveals that 54% of respondents admit they underestimated the operational complexity of translating AI strategies into tangible outcomes, and only 17% feel prepared to integrate agentic AI into their processes.

Meanwhile, only 23% of surveyed CMOs feel employees are prepared for the cultural and operational shifts brought by AI agents.

Jonathan Adashek, IBM’s senior VP of marketing and communications, said companies that will dominate the next decade will have AI at their organizational core and are already building the right operating model and teams on top of that.

“For many CMOs, this means being willing to admit that our current marketing model, no matter how comfortable, how familiar, or how challenging to replace, is not delivering what is needed and actively sabotaging our future,” Adashek said in a statement Tuesday.

Less than a quarter (24%) of survey respondents said they have tech platforms that support consistent cross-functional collaboration and 44% said they have integrated systems for demand planning and fulfillment.

Only 28% of organizations reported that the end-to-end customer experience is effectively owned and aligned across functions.

Poll respondents said cybersecurity and data privacy were their top operational concerns when looking ahead to their the greatest challenges in the next three years. Technology modernization, forecast accuracy and talent recruiting and retention rounded out the top five concerns for the three years to come.

The study included leaders from 24 industries, such as manufacturing, retail, IT services and government, spanning 33 geographies and featured both publicly traded and private companies.