The primary catalyst forcing marketing and IT leaders into a strategic alliance is the sheer velocity of AI adoption and accessibility. The old tactical, service-desk model is too slow to manage the risks and opportunities, necessitating a shared, proactive strategy.
The initial conversation between a CMO and CIO about AI should not be about specific tools or governance. Instead, it must focus on establishing a shared vocabulary and a common understanding of AI's value proposition specifically within the context of marketing and revenue operations.
Instead of reacting to unsanctioned tool usage, forward-thinking organizations create formal AI councils. These cross-functional groups (risk, privacy, IT, business lines) establish a proactive process for dialogue and evaluation, addressing governance issues before tools become deeply embedded.
When marketing teams adopt unsanctioned AI tools, it's typically not intentional subversion but an attempt to achieve business outcomes under pressure. IT leaders should interpret this "shadow IT" as a signal of urgent business needs, opening a dialogue about enabling innovation with proper guardrails.
Beyond improving traditional marketing metrics, a crucial new shared KPI for the CMO-CIO partnership is "Time to Value." This measures the efficiency of AI pilot selection, execution, and scaling, ensuring the collaboration delivers on AI's promise of speed without getting bogged down by process or governance hurdles.
Effective AI integration requires first upskilling existing marketing teams in "AI literacy" so they can understand workflows and evaluate tools. Only then should leaders augment the team with specialized external talent (consultants, vendors) to fill specific gaps, rather than hiring a single "AI expert" who lacks business context.