IBMInstituteforBusinessValue|ResearchInsights

Thecontentsupply

chain’sAIawakening

HowtogofrombottleneckstobreakthroughROI

Adobe

aws

HowgenerativeAIcreatesmemorableimagesthat

amplifycontentthemes

DesignersattheIBMInstituteforBusinessValue

usedAdobeFireflytocreatetheimagesinthisreport.Similartohowthereportdescribestheshiftfromlargertosmallerlanguagemodels,ourdesignersstructuredtheircreativeprocessaroundtheuseofasmallset

ofreferenceimagesandpromptstodefinetheoutputandbuildthisfamilyofinterrelatedimages.Oncethedesignershadafinalprocessinplace,theimages

tookonlyafewdaystobuild,ratherthantheweeksatraditionalproductionprocessmightrequire.

84%oforganizationssaygenAIcansuccessfullyscalethecreationand

deliveryofpersonalizedexperiences.

Key

takeaways

Despiteinitialoptimism,theintegrationofgenAI

intocontentsupplychains(CSCs)hasbeenslower

thananticipated.Only50%oforganizationshad

achievedtheirplannedAIadoptionbytheendof2024,fallingshortofexpectations.

Yet,enthusiasmishigherthanever.Almost

two-thirds(64%)oforganizationsaremoreenthusiasticaboutgenAI’simpactonCSCsthantheywereayear

ago.84%stillsaygenAIcansuccessfullyscalethecreationanddeliveryofpersonalizedexperiences.

Roadblocksarecommonandcancauseadoptiontostagnate.Cost,organizationalchange,risk

mitigation,andlackoftrustinAI-generatedcontentcanstalladoption.Overcomingthesechallengesis

necessaryfororganizationstorealizethefullbenefitsofanAI-poweredCSC.

Going“allin”reapsthehighestrewards.When

organizationstakeaholisticapproachbyinvesting

instrategicplanning,robustfinancialandhuman

resources,proactivechangemanagement,andotherstrategies,theyreport—whencomparedtotheir

peers—a22%higherreturnontheirCSCinvestmentanda30%higherROIontheirgenAIintegration.

1

23

Introduction

Lastyear,wepublishedTherevolutionarycontent

supplychain:HowgenerativeAIsuperchargescreativityandproductivity(seeFigure1).ThefuturewasallrosyandallgenAI.

Finally,organizationshadthecapabilitytodeliveronthepromiseofcontent

personalizationatscaleandfrictionlessautomation,withdatainsightsattheirfingertipstodirectchannelstrategiesandinvestments.

Thisyear’sresearchrevealedarealitycheckandaparadox:whilethesurgeofenthusiasmaroundgenAIandcontentsupplychains(CSCs)hasdramaticallyincreased—andrealprogresshasbeenmade—thespeedofoperationalizationhasfallenshortoforganizations’optimisticexpectations.

Caseinpoint:lastyear,74%ofexecutivesreportedtheirorganizationswereeitheralreadyusingorplanningtousegenAIbytheendof2024fornumerousCSCuse

cases,fromcontentcreationtoautomatedworkflows.Yettoday,only50%haveachievedthismilestone.

Figure1

Acontentsupplychainbringstogether

people,processes,andtechnologyto

effectivelyplan,create,produce,launch,

>>>

measure,andmanagecontent.

Tag&store

Create&approve

Plan&

activate

Execute

&measure

<<<<

<<

Contentsupplychain

ampli?edby

AI

generative

Source:IBMInstituteforBusinessValue

Initialexpectationsforsuchrapidadoptionwerenotsurprising,givengenAI’searlyhypecyclewhenitexplodedintothepublicdomainjustovertwoyears

ago.ButFigure2illustratesexamplesinwhichrealityhasfallenshortof

projections:someofthemostpopularCSC/genAIusecaseshavetakenlongertoimplementthanexpected.

Why?

Callittheschoolofhardknocks:experimentationandearlypilots

uncoveredcomplexitiesthatorganizationsneedtoaddressbeforethey

realizethefullbenefitsofanefficientCSC.Withincessantpressuretogaincompetitiveadvantageandsatisfyconsumerdemandsforpersonalized

experiences,companiesarescramblingoverthelearningcurvetomasterthesechallenges.

Figure2

ForsomeCSCusecases,genAI

adoptionistrailingexpectations

Tobetterunderstandwhereorganizationsarestrugglingmostandhowtheyarerecalibratingtheirtrajectoryforward,theIBMInstitutefor

Services(AWS)todoadeeperdiveintothestatusoforganizations’CSCjourneys.WithOxfordEconomics,wesurveyed1,100executivesfrommajorenterpriseswithanaverageof$22billioninannualrevenues.Oursampleincludesorganizationsfrom12industriesacross15countriestoarriveatacomprehensivelookathowlargeorganizationsarecurrentlyusinggenAItosupporttheircontent-relatedactivities.

BusinessValue(IBMIBV)partneredwithAdobeandAmazonWeb

Customerinsights

90%

65%

2023projection2024actual

Creativeideation/concepting

83%

58%

2023projection2024actual

Mediamix/budgetplanning

Channeloptimization

83%

41%

82%

60%

2023projection2024actual

2023projection2024actual

Q.WhattypesofresearchandanalysistasksareyoualreadyusinggenAIfor?Ifyou’renotusinggenAIintheseareastoday,whendoyouplantodoso?Questionsaskedaboutcustomerinsights,creativeideation/conception,mediamix/budgetplanning,andchanneloptimization.

45

67

Welearnedthereisnosingle,prevailingCSCchallenge,butratherseveral

importantbarriers—someofwhichwerepreviouslyunderestimated—that

areslowingimplementationandadoptionofgenAI-fueledCSCs:costs,

organizationalimpact,riskmitigation,andalackoftrustinAI-generatedcontent.

Butgoodnews:Organizationsarestillrealizinganumberofbenefits,includingreducedproductiontimes,enhancedcontentcreativity,andincreasedcontentflexibilitywhilemitigatingtheveryconcernsthatareslowingimplementation

formany(seeFigure3).

Themotivationtoadvanceisclear.Evenwhilewrestlingwithchallenges,almost

two-thirds(64%)oforganizationsaremoreenthusiasticaboutgenAI’simpactonCSCsthantheywereayearago.Indeed,84%stillsaygenAIcansuccessfullyscalethecreationanddeliveryofpersonalizedexperiences.Thewillisthere—what

organizationsneedisapathforward.

Figure3

LargepercentagesofleadingorganizationsreporttheirgenAIinvestmentsarepositivelyimpactingtheirCSCs

Signi?cantprogressin

optimizingproductiontime

74%

Improvedcreativerisk-taking

68%

Improvedflexibilityofassets

49%

Q.Inthelastyear,whatlevelofprogresshasyourorganizationmadeinoptimizingtheCSCusinggenAIforiterationcycles?Inthelasttwoyears,inwhatwayshaveyourinvestmentsinCSCsimpactedcreativityinyourorganization?

Evenwhilewrestlingwith

challenges,almosttwo-thirds

(64%)oforganizationsaremore

enthusiasticaboutgenAI’simpactonCSCsthantheywereayearago.

89

Partone

Navigating

thechallenges

AdvancinggenAI

incontentsupplychains

Demandforcontent

isaccelerating1andthe

percentageofrevenue

devotedtoitscreation

anddeliveryisincreasing.

Inthelastyearalone,surveyedexecutivesestimatehavingspent,onaverage,$167.7millionontheircontentactivities.By2026,

theyexpectthatpercentagetojump9.7%to$184million.

Itwillnotbepossibletomeetthisgrowingdemandforcontent

withoutCSCsthataredrivenbygenAIcapabilities,whichiswhy

thesesolutionshaveenergizedcontentteams.OrganizationshavebegunintegratingAIintotheirCSCs,buttheirprogresshasbeen

32%slowerthananticipatedacross30distinctCSCusecases.2

Whenweaskedorganizationswhatimpedestheirprogress,theycitedanumberofchallenges(seeFigure4).

1011

Q.Whatbarriersdoesyourorganizationneedtoovercometo

successfullyintegrategenAIintoyourCSC?Whatbarriersdoesyourorganizationfaceinimprovingyourcontentsupplychain?

*Organizationalchangeasitrelatestoadoptionofnewtechnologyandprocesses.

“Someofourearlyexperimentsmadeusthinkverycarefullyaboutwhat’stherightamountofdata,withtherightquality,attherighttime,withtherightauditability,”

JamesO’Keefe,MarketingTechnologyDirector,

UK-basedLegal&General

Figure4

Themostconcerningrisksof

incorporatinggenAIintoCSCs,

bypercentageoforganizations

citingthefactor

61%

Cost

57%

Organizationalchange*

57%

Riskmitigation

56%

Lackoftrustin

AI-generatedcontent

1.Cost

Basedonour2023CSCsurvey,nearlytwo-thirdsoforganizationsfeltthebudgetsneededtocoverCSCexpenditureswereadequate.3Ayearago,“difficultyobtainingrequiredfundingandbudgetapprovals”laggedwellbehindotherCSCbarriersthatorganizationswerefacing.Fast-forward12monthsandcostsurfacesasthetop

obstaclemostexecutives(61%)reportashamperingtheintegrationofgenAIintotheirCSCs.Tosomeextent,thisisaconsequenceoforganizationsjumpingfeetfirstintogenAIexperimentationwitheasilyaccessiblepublicplatforms.Butcontent

creatorsquicklyrealizedthatthesemodelsrequiredrefinementandtheadditionofproprietarydatatomeettheirneeds.

Earlypilotsalsorevealeddataandinfrastructurevulnerabilities,thepossibleneedforhardwareandsoftwareupgrades,additionallicensing,andthehiringand

upskillingofnewtalent—allofwhichaddcosts.In2023,nearlyhalfofbusinesses

conductedinitialexperimentsinisolatedpocketsofthebusinesswithfew

guardrails.4Withoutorchestrated,strategicdirectives,manyearlypilotsmissedthemark,makingitdifficulttobuildaconcretebusinesscaseforbudget-conscious

organizations.

“Someofourearlyexperimentsmadeusthinkverycarefullyaboutwhat’stherightamountofdata,withtherightquality,attherighttime,withtherightauditability,”observesJamesO’Keefe,MarketingTechnologyDirectoratUK-basedLegal&

General.Headdsthatbeingselectiveaboutdatacanminimizecost.“It’sabouttryingtofindtherightusecasesthatwilldrivevalueandattractbudget.”

Itwillnotbepossibletomeetthis

growingdemandforcontentwithoutCSCsthataredrivenbygenAI

capabilities.

3.Riskmitigation

WhenconsideringtheimpactofintegratinggenAIintotheirCSCs,

57%ofexecutivesexpressedconcernsaboutinsufficientriskcontrols.

OrganizationsmustnavigatepotentialpitfallsassociatedwithAI,such

asdataprivacybreaches,algorithmicbias,andtheethicalimplications

ofAI-generatedcontent.Becauseriskmanagementisakeycomponenttoaddressinganychallenge,wetakeacloserlookatthisinthenextsection.

4.LackoftrustinAI-generatedcontent

Inadditiontoconcernsaboutcostandrisk,56%ofexecutivesalso

fundamentallyworrythatAI-generatedcontentmightbackfireonthem.GiventhenuancednatureofhumanlanguageandthepotentialforAItomisinterpretormisrepresentinformation,theaccuracyandreliabilityofAI-generatedcontent—especiallywithoutappropriategovernance—canpresentsignificantchallenges.

2.Organizationalchange

Adaptingtonewtechnologiesandprocessescansparkanevolution—orrevolution—inworkforceskills,jobroles,andcompanyculture.Morethanhalfofexecutives(57%)say

organizationalchangeisacriticalchallengeimpactingtheimprovementoftheirCSCs,andtheyclaimitisthemostdifficultbarriertoovercome.

AsChrisMuscutt,DirectorofContentSupplyChain/MarketingTechnologyatPhilipMorrisInternational(PMI)noted,“PeoplewillgooffanddogenAIwithorwithoutyou.Thetrickis,howdoIalignthoseprojectsthatwentaheadwithoutme,sotheystilldriveanalignedagenda?”

Anend-to-endCSCcantouchmultipledisciplines,

departments,teams,andlocations.Dataandcontentassets

mayresideinavarietyofformatsandonplatformsthataren’tintegrated.ForanenterpriseCSCtobeeffective,organizationsneedtobreakdowndatasilosandalignnotonlytechnologiesandworkflows,butalsoprioritiesandstrategicagendas,

OptimizingROIthroughaholistic,

genAI-focusedapproachtostrategicCSCinvestments

AstheinitialAIfervorinevitablygiveswaytogetting-it-donerealism,

topcompaniesaredemonstratingthatstrategicallyinvestinginCSC

workflows,leveraginggenAIassistants,integratingrobustgovernancepractices,andotherstrategies,canyieldsubstantialreturns.We’ve

identifiedthesetopcompaniesasthosethatarefurtheralongwiththeirgenAI/CSCintegrationandseeingthehighestpositivebusinessimpact(see“Researchmethodology”onpage31formoredetails.)

requirements,budgets,skillsets,timelines,metrics,

andexpectations.Butresistancetochange,fearofjob

displacement,andlackofacommonvisionandobjectivescanderaileventhebest-laidplans.

However,challengescanalsopresentopportunities,

notesO’KeefeofLegal&General:“OurCSChelpedussee

how—asanorganization—wecancollaborateacrossdifferentteamsanddepartments.WecombinedsomegenAI/CSC

experimentsbecauseitwasinefficientformultipleteamsto

beexploringsimilarthings.So,wegathereda‘coalitionofthewilling’intoasteeringgroupandworkinggroups.Wewentfirstandbroketheicesootherscouldfastfollow.”

Proactivegovernancepracticesnot

onlymitigatepotentialproblemsbutalsoenhancestakeholderconfidenceintheorganization’sAIcapabilities.

1213

Insteadofpursuingone-off,isolatedinitiatives,

advancedenterprisesallocatemoreresources

towardstreamliningprocesses,automating

repetitivetasks,andenhancinginterdepartmentalcollaboration,whichenablesthemtoreap

thebenefitsofamoreagile,responsiveCSC.

And,asourresearchhasmadeclear,topcompaniesarekeenlymotivatedbybusinessresults.51%are

investinginCSCswiththegoalofincreasingrevenue,comparedtojust35%oftheirpeers.

Leadingorganizationsnotonlynavigatethe

challengesofAIintegrationmoreeffectivelybut

arealsoachievingimpressiveresults,withanoverallROIontheirCSCsthatis22%higherthantheirpeersand,morespecifically,a30%higherROIfortheir

genAIinitiatives.

However,merelyinvestinginadvancedtechnologyisnotenough—leadingorganizationsalsoengage

inproactivepractices(seeFigure5).Organizationstakingacomprehensiveapproachunderstandtheimportanceofintegratingstronggovernance

practices.Theyimplementrobustframeworks

tohelpensureAI’sethicaluse,managerisks

effectively,andbuildtrustinAI-generatedcontent.

Thisincludesestablishingclearguidelinesfor

AIapplications,conductingregularaudits,and

maintainingtransparencyinAIoperations.Suchpracticesnotonlymitigatepotentialproblemsbutalsoenhancestakeholderconfidenceinthe

organization’sAIcapabilities.

Figure5

28%more

optimizethecontentsupplychainusinggenAItoimproveon-time,

on-budgetperformancebyunifyingdata,campaignassets,and

reporting

24%more

haveanef?cientautomated

processforreviewsandapprovals

20%more

deliverpersonalizedcontentexperiencesatscale

18%more

employtemplate-basedcontentproduction

13%more

Leadingorganizationsaremorelikelythantheirpeerstoadoptthesepractices

haveacentralizedwork

managementsolutionwithprojectlifecyclevisibility

Perspective

Ifeverybodyownsit,nobodyownsit

Theverynatureofanend-to-endCSC—onethattouchesnumerousdepartments,

domains,andlocales—canleadtoaconfusingcollectionofteamseachowninga

pieceoftheCSCpuzzle.Lastyear,wegotawiderangeofanswerswhenweasked

surveyrespondents,“WhoistheprimaryownerofyourCSC,orwhoshares

ownership?”30%citedtheCMO,buttherestpointedtonumerousotherroles—

manyofwhichnotallcompanieshave—suchasChiefContentOfficer,ChiefCreativeOfficer,andChiefExperienceOfficer.Morethanaquartersaidothernon-C-suite

executivesornonexecutiveleaderswerealsoresponsible.5

Oneyearlater,thestoryismuchthesame.Moreorganizations(40%)saytheCMOsolelyownsorsharesownershipoftheirCSC.Likewise,ChiefExperienceOfficer

jumpsto37%(upfrom24%),andChiefContentOfficeris28%(upfrom11%).

Notably,CSCownersreportintoanarrayofbusinessfunctionsfrommarketingandsalestocorporatecommunications,strategy,IT,andevenlegal.

Havingrepresentationfromsomanypartsofthebusinessisatestamenttothe

importanceofanenterprise-wideCSC,butthisdecentralizedapproachcanbe

difficulttogovern.Itrequiresatightcoalitionofseniorleadersandconsistent,

transparentcommunicationsacrosstheirrespectiveteamstohelpensuredecisionsaremadethatsupportthewholeCSCvaluechain,notjustasinglegroup’sagenda.

Q.TowhatextentdoyouagreeyourorganizationfollowstheaboveCSCpracticestoplan,create,anddelivercontent?

Note:Percentagesreflectrespondentswhoreporttheprioritiesandpracticesabovetoalargeorverylargeextent.

30%oforganizationssay

theCMOistheprimaryowner,

orsharesownershipoftheirCSC.

1415

Parttwo

Managingrisk

UnleashingcreativitywithgenAI

VigorousriskmanagementisessentialforrealizingthefullcreativepotentialofgenAI.

CompaniestakingaholisticapproachtogenAI

havemasteredthisart,effectivelymanagingrisksinanumberofareas.Andbydoingso,theyareabletoembracegenAIdeeplyandelevatecreativity

withintheirorganizations.

Dataprovenance

Thedigitaltrailthatrecordstheoriginofdataisacriticalriskarea

forgenAI.Leadingorganizationsreportextensiveuseofthis

approach—67%morethanotherenterprises.Byhelpingensuredataaccuracy,integrity,andtraceability,theygivetheirAIsystemsstreetcredibility.VigorousdatamanagementempowersconfidenceinAItogeneratereliable,validoutputsthatprovidealaunchpadforcreativeexplorationandinnovation.

Tothatend,O’KeefeofLegal&Generalnotes,“Wehadsomeupstreamdatasourcesthatwerestillinsilos,sowehadtofocusourearlyeffortstogettoasingle,aggregatedcustomerview.WeneededtohavemorepeopleusingaconsistentstandardandaconsistentDAM[digitalassetmanagementsystem].Ineffect,wehadtorethinktheuseoftheDAM.ThenotionofDAMbeingastrategicdataassetisimportant.”

RobustdatamanagementempowersconfidenceinAItogeneratevalidoutputs

thatprovidealaunchpadforcreativity.

1617

Figure6

Howadvancedorganizationsuseriskmanagementtofoster

innovation

TrustinAI-generatedcontent

TheextenttowhichgenAIcanbetrustedcansignificantlyimpacttrustinan

organization’sbrand.Infact,whencomparedtoenterprisesoverall,advanced

67%more

employrobustmanagementofdataprovenance

organizationsreportasignificantimprovement46%morethantheirpeers.How?

TheyimplementtransparentprocessesandvalidateAI-generatedcontentagainstformalstandards.Asaresult,theyreportextensiveuseofongoingmodeltraining

48%more

reportextensiveuseofongoingmodeltrainingandre?nement

andrefinement48%morethantheirpeers.ThishighleveloftrustempowersteamstoembraceAI-generatedcontent,fosteringcollaborationbetweenhumansandAI.

ScrupulousoversightofgenAIoutputs

Thisoversighthelpsensuregreateraccuracyforleadingorganizations,aswellas

adherencetobrandstandards,with18%moreofthemtakingacomprehensive

△

approachtogenAIbyexercisingthislevelofrigorousoversight.TheyuseAIasatooltoaugmenthumancreativityratherthanreplaceit.Byassigninglaborious,repetitivetaskstoAI,theseorganizationsfreehumancreatorstofocusonthemorestrategic

aspectsoftheirwork.AndbecauseAIoutputsareprogrammedtobebrand-aligned,contentcreatorscantrustAItojump-startideation,acceleratingthecreativeprocess.

Withdatamanagementandtrustveri?cationundercontrol,humancreatorsarefreetoinnovate

boldlyandtakecalculatedrisks.

O’KeefeofLegal&GeneralnotestheimportanceofqualitycontrolandcompliancetobuildtrustingenAIoutputs:“WeconstantlycheckthevalidityandqualityofthegenAImodelswedeploy.Westartedbyrunninglow-riskopportunitiesthatcouldbeusedinafairlycontrolledmanner.Nowwerunphaseddeploymentsforaparticularaudiencethat’sexposedtocontentoveraperiodoftime,andwemonitorthe

①

outcome.Thisaffordsushigherlevelsofqualitycontrolandhelpsbuildconfidencethatwe’reachievingtherequisitecompliancestandards.”

46%more

reporthighertrustinAI-generatedcontent

AhighleveloftrustempowersteamstoembraceAI-generatedcontent,

fosteringcollaborationbetweenhumansandAI.

18%more

reportscrupulousoversight

ofAIoutputs

Q.InwhichwaysdoesyourorganizationsubstantiallymitigategenAIrisks(strongdata

provenance/lineageforAIgeneratedoutputs,ongoingAImodeltrainingandrefinement,human

oversightforaccuracyandbrandalignment)?WhatlevelofprogresshasyourorganizationmadeinoptimizingthecontentsupplychainusinggenAItodeveloptrustandauthenticityinyourbrand?

1819

Figure7

ImpactofCSC

Theresultoftheseeffectiveriskmanagementstrategies?

Withdatamanagementandtrustverificationundercontrol,humancreatorsarefreetoinnovateboldlyandtakecalculatedrisks(seeFigure6).ThecombinationofadvancedAIcapabilitiesandhumaningenuitycreatesanincubatorforideasandsolutions.

OrganizationsacrosstheboardsaygenAIhasboostedtheircreativity.

ThemajorityofexecutivesreportthattheirgenAI-poweredcontentsupplychaininvestmentshavehadapositiveimpactontheircreativeprocess(seeFigure7).

BetsyRohtbart,VPof,observes,“AI’sfirstideasmaybenonsensical

orawesome,buteitherway,itstretchestheboundariesofourcreativeprocess.

Ithelpsusriseabovegroupthink.Andit’screatedacomfortzoneforthegreater

sharingofideas,becausewhenaconceptcomesfromAI,notanindividual,the

teamfeelsfreertojudgeitobjectively.We’reabletogetafirstcutdevelopedquickly.Thenwepickupthepentomakesurehumanemotionisreflected.”6

AndChrisMuscuttofPMIadds:“Thechallenge[aroundreleasingcreativity]

hasbeenaroundcreatingcleargovernancelanguageofwhatyoucanandcan’tdowiththenewtools.Nowthatgovernanceisinplace,peoplefeelmorefree,moreconfidenttoexperiment.”

Withdatamanagementandtrustverificationundercontrol,humancreatorsarefreetoinnovateboldlyandtakecalculatedrisks.

<>

Nochange

investmentsoncreativityacrossallorganizations

Worse

Better

DivergentthinkingO

16%

9%

Accesstoinspiration

5%

24%

Creativerisk-taking

11%

21%

Originality