Foreword

InthisAdobeAIandDigitalTrendsinB2BJourneysreport,weexplorehowB2Borganizationsareunderincreasedpressure

toproducerelevant,tailoredcontentacrossanexpandingrangeofchannels.WelookathowgenerativeAIishelpingB2Bmarketersincreaseproductivityandoptimizeperformance.Inaddition,weexaminewhyB2BorganizationshavebeenquicktotrialandpilotAI-basedtools,butslowertoscaleandrolloutworkingsolutions.

Keyfindings

B2Bbuyersdon’tneedmorecontent—theyneedcontentthat’smorerelevantandtimelytohelpthemnavigatecomplexpurchasedecisions.

B2Bmarketingisn’tjustanumbersgame.Totrulyengagebuyers,contentstrategiesneedtobesmart,targeted,andcurated—becauserelevancewinseverytime.Buyersarealreadydrowningincontentandmessagesfromsalesteams,marketingdepartments,and

solutionproviders.Contentthatisn’ttimely,relevant,andengagingjustwon’tattractattention,muchlessspuraction.

Despitethis,manymarketingorganizationsriskprioritizingvolumeovervalue,with69%ofpractitionersfeelingpressuredto

rapidlyincreaseboththenumberandvarietyofdigitalassetstheyproduce.Thatmindsetwillpersistin2025,asFigure1shows.

While43%ofB2Bpractitionersareundermorepressuretoincreasetheflowofcontenttomeettheneedsofdiferentchannelsandaudiences,just36%areplacinggreaterfocusonoptimizingthatcontentforchannelsandsegments.That’sasignificantissueforB2Borganizationsrollingoutnewchannelssuchasself-servicepoweredbyagenticAIordynamicchat,wherebuyerswilldemandaverydiferentexperienceastheyseekandexplorerelevantinformationthatappliestotheirspecificusecases.

Evenfewerorganizations(30%)areprioritizingperformanceinsights,suchasA/Btesting,toimproveresults.Withoutthoseinsights,thewrongcontentcanreachthewrongaudience—causingthemtotuneout.

Figure1:Comparedto2024,whichofthefollowingwillyourmarketingorganizationbeundergreaterpressuretodeliverin2025?

43%

38%36%34%

30%28%

Increasedflowof

content(i.e.,awider

rangeofcontent,

deliveredmore

frequently,

morechannels)

Increased

engagement

andconversion

Optimizedcontent

fordiferent

segments,

audiences,and

geographicalregions

Real-time

personalization

ofcontent

Increasedtesting

forcontent

performance

optimization

(e.g.,A/Btesting)

Expeditedtimelinesforcontentcreation

Base:615B2Bpractitioners

2

Thechallengeofconnectingbuyerswiththecontenttheyneed.

Muchissaidaboutthechallengeofmarketingtolarge,distributedbuyinggroups,butlessattentionisgiventothecomplexitythatbuyersencounterastheynavigatesprawlingB2Bproductportfolios,oftenwithlittleclarityorguidance.

Tailoringthecustomer’sexperienceiscrucialtohelpbuyersfindtherightcontentattherighttime.YetmanyB2Borganizations

stillstrugglewithevenbasicpersonalization.Only36%usedataandalgorithmstocustomizewebexperiences,andjust35%makeproductrecommendationsbasedonpastpurchasesorbrowsingbehavior(Figure2).Evenfewer—only28%—updateofersinrealtimebasedonbrowsinghistory.

Thesearekeychallenges,buttheydocreateaclearopportunityforB2Bmarketerstostandoutbyempathizingwithbuyersandremovingobstaclestobuyingandchoosingtherightbusinessproductsandservices.TechnologieslikegenerativeAImakethis

possiblebyenablingthecreationanddeliveryoftailoredcontent—whetherinpaidmedia,emailcampaigns,orsalesoutreach—thatconnectswithindividualbuyersandtheirorganizations.

B2BmarketersarestartingtoadoptgenerativeAIforcontentcreation,with34%usingitforcopyand30%forcreativecontent—though,asFigure3(below)shows,adoptionhasyettoberolledoutfullyinmanyorganizations.

Figure2:Approachestopersonalizingdigitalcontent

(%oforganizationsroutinelyusingeachapproachforpersonalization)

Weusedataandanalyticstopredictcustomerneedsbysegmentand/orpersona

42%

Weusedataandalgorithmstopersonalizethewebsiteexperience

36%

Wemakerecommendationsbasedonpreviouspurchaseandbrowsingbehavior

35%

WeusegenerativeAItocraftemails,messages,andothercopy

34%

WeuseAI-drivenchatbotstodeliverreal-timecustomersupport

33%

WeusegenerativeAItopersonalizeimages,infographics,orvideocontent

30%

Ofersareupdatedinrealtimetoreflectcustomers’mostrecentbrowsingandpurchasebehavior

28%

Noneofthese

8%

Base:615B2Bpractitioners

3

ManyorganizationshaveyettorolloutgenerativeAIatscale—yetexecutivesarepredictingmeasurableresultsbytheendof2025.

MostB2BmarketingorganizationsarestillintheexperimentalphasewithgenerativeAI.Accordingtooursurveydata,only38%haverolledoutworkingsolutionsformarketingandcustomerexperience(CX),but26%arerunningpilotprograms,and29%aretestingAImoreinformallyattheteamorindividuallevel,leavingamere7%ofB2Borganizationsactivelyavoidingit.

TherapidpaceofAIadoptionisnotonlyexpectedtocontinuebuttoaccelerate.Despitemanyhavingnoworkingsolutionstodate,87%ofseniorexecutivesbelievethatintegratingAIintocustomerjourneysandmarketingworkflowswilldelivermeasurablereturnsbytheendof2025.ScalingAIafteradoption,however,remainsachallenge.

So,what’sholdingorganizationsback?Concernsaroundethics,governance,andprivacyallplayarole,butinoursurvey,42%of

seniorexecutivessayplanstoscalegenerativeAIarebeingstalledbecausetheycan’tidentifyhigh-impactB2Busecases.However,organizationshavestartedtoimplementgenerativeAIforcontentusecases,includingcontentcreation,ideation,andmanagement,andoneofthemostimpactfulapplicationsinB2BhasbeenAI-poweredchatandcustomersupport.

Today,asFigure3shows,whilemanymarketingandCXusecasesarebeingconsideredforgenerativeAI,workingsolutionsarelesscommonplace.Today,45%ofB2BorganizationsarealreadyusingAI-poweredchatbotsandvirtualassistants,splitbetween28%

whoarestillevaluatingand17%whohavedemonstratedROI.

AI-poweredchatisalogicalstartingpointforB2BorganizationsconsideringgenerativeAI—notonlybecauseitdelivers

measurableimpact,butalsobecauseitbenefitsfromout-of-the-boxsolutions.AsagenticAIevolves,thisusecasewillcontinuetomature,oferingevengreatervaluebypredictingbuyers’needsandaddressingtheminthemomentwithconversationsthatfeel

naturalandfamiliar.ButforanyB2Bmarketingorganizationstuckonpickingtherightusecasestostartwith,theadviceisthesame—focusonyourbusinessobjectivesandselecttheAItoolsthatalignmostcloselytothoseneeds.

Figure3:UseofgenerativeAIacrossusecases,frominformaltestingtoseeingROI

NotusinginthisareaInformaltestingPilotingInusebutstillevaluatingInuseandalreadyseeingROI

Chatandcustomersupport(e.g.,chatbots,productcustomizationtools)

19%16%20%28%17%

Generatingideasandcreativeconcepts(e.g.,brainstorming,contentideation,roughdrafts)

14%18%23%29%15%

workingsolutionsinuse

Automatingprocessesandstreamliningworkflows(e.g.,taggingassets,assigningtasksandbrandreviews)

12%

16%18%24%30%

Usingreal-timedatatopersonalizecustomerexperiencesacrossmultiplechannelsandtouchpoints

12%

20%15%24%29%

AnalyzingdataandcustomerinteractionstouncoverAI-driveninsights

20%16%24%26%14%

Creatingphotoshoots(e.g.,forproductshotsandcreativecontent)

13%

26%15%19%28%

Creatingengagingvideosquicklyandeficiently(e.g.,forsocialmedia,digitalads,productdemos)

13%

23%15%23%26%

Optimizingandorchestratingpersonalizedcustomerjourneys

11%

23%15%23%27%

Base:615B2Bpractitioners

4

OrganizationsscalegenerativeAImostsuccessfullywhentheyalignusecaseswithcorebusinessobjectives.

WhilefeworganizationshavefullydemonstratedtheROIofgenerativeAIinmarketingandCX,thosethathaveworkingsolutionsinplaceshareacommonapproach—theyprioritizebusinessvalue.

Seniorexecutivesintheseorganizationsstandoutbecausetheyfocusonusecasesthatalignwithcorebusinessobjectivesanddeliverthemostsignificantimpact—69%comparedto43%ofthosestillinthepilotphase(Figure4).

Theyalsofocusonmeasurableoutcomes,with66%trackingROIthroughrobustmetrics,nearlytwiceasmanyasthoseinpilotmode(38%).

Atthesametime,theseorganizationsaddressconcernsaroundgenerativeAIbyembeddinggovernanceandcomplianceearly—76%haveimplementedregulatoryframeworks,comparedtojust46%ofthosestillinpilottesting.

Figure4:OrganizationswithAIobjectivesatornearcompletion—acomparisonofearlyadoptersofgenerativeAI(inuseandwithROI)vs.organizationsatpilotstage

OrganizationspilotinggenerativeAISolutionsinusewithprovenROI

76%

69%

69%

66%

66%

57%

51%

45%

46%

43%

38%

35%

Creatingframeworksforregulatory

complianceandAIgovernance

EnsuringAI

investments

alignwithcore

businessobjectives

Buildinga

comprehensive

risk-management

frameworkfor

AIimplementation

Developing

robustmetricsfor

trackingROIof

generativeAIpilots

orimplementations

Developing

responsibleuseofAI/AIethicspractices

Creatingchange

management

processestohelp

employeesupskill

andembeduse

ofAIintotheir

workprocesses

Base:106B2Bseniorexecutivesinorganizationspiloting,and67withprovenROI

5

GenerativeAIpilotscanproduceincrementalbenefits,

butfull-scaleimplementationisneededtosignificantlyboostcustomerengagement.

SeniorexecutivesseeAIandpredictiveanalyticsasgame-changersforretainingcustomersandenhancingcustomervalue,with61%expectingthistofuelgrowthin2025.

ThispromiseofgrowthshouldgiveorganizationsaclearincentivetoimplementthestructuresrequiredtoscalegenerativeAI.

AsFigure5highlights,B2BorganizationsthathavealreadydeployedworkingAIsolutionsareprovingtheirvalue.What’stellingisthatwhile35%expectmeasurableimpactfromincreasingthenumberofinteractions,53%believetheywillseeresultsfrombetterqualityinteractionsinthenext12to24months.

Thesequality-drivengainsmakethediference—drivinghigherlevelsofcustomerengagementandbuildingloyalty.AlmosttwiceasmanyorganizationswithfullydeployedAIsolutionsexpecttocreatehigherlevelsofcustomerengagementwithintwoyears

comparedtothosestillinthepilotstage(45%versus28%).

Figure5:HowgenerativeAIisexpectedtohavethemostmeasurableimpactonmarketingandCXoperationsoverthenext12to24months—acomparisonoforganizationswithworkingsolutionsinplacevs.thoseatpilotstage

PilotingSolutionsinplace

53%

45%

40%

41%

38%

36%

35%

35%

28%

28%

Improvethequalityofcustomerinteractions

Createhigherlevelsof

customerengagement

Makeinteractionsmoretailoredtocustomerneeds

Improvethe

efectivenessand

consistencyof

communicationacrosschannels

Increasethe

numberof

customerinteractions

Base:580B2Bpractitioners

6

7

Conclusionsandrecommendations

B2Borganizationsareunderincreasingpressuretoboostcontentoutputacrossbuyergroups,channels,segments,andjourneys.

Butwithbrandscompetingforattention,buyersareoverwhelmed.Theydon’twantmoremessages—theywantrelevant,accurateinformationthatanticipatestheirbuyinggroup’sneeds,tailoredbychannel.Withoutaddressingthis,organizationsriskwasting

budgetoncontentthatfailstodrivemeaningfulengagement.

GenerativeAIequipsmarketersandCXprofessionalswiththetoolstobemoreproductive,whilealsoprovidingtheinsights

andanalyticsneededtooptimizecontentbychannelanddeliveritattherightmoment.Usersarealreadystartingtoseeresultsfrominformaluseandlimitedpilots,butrealbusinessimpactcomesfromscalingAIsolutionsandembeddingthemdirectlyintocustomerjourneys.

B2BorganizationshavebeenquicktotrialgenerativeAIbutslowtoscaleit.TounlockthefullpotentialofgenerativeAIinthecustomerjourney,theyshould:

PrioritizeAIwhereitdrivesrealbusinessimpact.It’seasytotestinnovativetechnologyinlow-riskusecases,but

organizationsthatwanttoseetangibleresultsshouldfocusonAIwhereitmattersmost—business-criticalusecaseswithwell-definedKPIs.Considerusecaseslikecustomersupport,whereAIcandemonstrablyreduceresponsetimes,improvesatisfaction,andfreeupteamsforhighervaluework.

UseAItoimprovecontent,notjustcreatemoreofit.Manymarketersareprioritizingeficiency,usingAItoproducemorecontentfaster.ButtherealadvantageliesinusingAItotest,analyze,andunderstandwhatresonates—thenquicklyrefine

messagingaccordinglytoensureeverypieceofcontentisimpactfulwithinthecustomerjourney.

Makereal-timeengagementareality.AIhasthepowertobetransformativebydeliveringtherightexperienceattherightmoment.ByembeddingAIintocustomerinteractionsandusingpredictiveinsightstoadjustinrealtime,organizationscan

finallyshifttoalevelofpersonalizationatscalethathaslongbeenoutofreachinB2B.

LearnhowtobringyourB2BjourneystolifewithAdobe.

CaseStudy:Qualcomm

RenownedmobiletechnologyleaderQualcommusesarangeofAdobeproductstotailorthedigitalexperienceanddeliverricher,morepersonalizedjourneysforcustomers.ProductslikeAdobeExperienceManagerSitesandAdobeTargethaverevolutionized

thebrand’swebsiteexperience,deliveringmoremeaningfulinfor