B2B marketing executives say artificial intelligence (AI) will have a significant impact on their marketing efforts in the next five years, but most say they still do not have a firm understanding of the technology, according to recent research from Demandbase.

The report was based on data from a survey of 500 B2B marketing executives who work for firms with 250 or more employees.

Some 80% of respondents say AI will revolutionize marketing by 2020.

However, only 26% of respondents say they are very confident they understand how AI is used in marketing, and only 10% say their company is using AI as part of its marketing efforts.

B2B marketing executives expect the top challenges of AI will be integrating it into their existing systems/technologies (60% cite it as an issue) and training employees on how to use it (54%).

Respondents say they will judge the success of AI by its ability to generate better sales close rates (59% cite it as an indicator of success), increase revenue (58%), improve digital traffic/engagement (54%), and convert more leads (52%).

About the research: The report was based on data from a survey of 500 B2B marketing executives who work for firms with 250 or more employees.