More than half of the advertisers surveyed ranked the short-form video giant as the leading platform for advanced marketing automation.
A massive expectations gap is stalling the advertising industry’s transition to artificial intelligence, according to new research released Monday by TikTok and NewtonX.
While 93 percent of advertising executives say they expect AI-driven automation to power future business growth, the study found that only 18 percent have actually integrated the technology into their core operations at scale.
The findings highlight a “performance paradox” where high digital ambitions are being thwarted by data privacy concerns, a lack of in-house technical skills, and the dizzying speed of AI innovation.
The pressure to close this gap is mounting. According to the report, 87 percent of Chief Marketing Officers globally reported campaign performance issues over the past year, with nearly half forced to pull ads early due to poor results. In response, 84 percent of executives say they now expect to see tangible returns from AI investments within just 12 months.
“AI automation is becoming essential for marketers striving to stay ahead,” said Shadi Kandil, General Manager, Global Business Solutions for TikTok in the MEA and South Asia regions. “By removing operational complexity, we’re enabling advertisers to focus on strategy and creativity that fuels growth.”
The study positions TikTok as a primary beneficiary of this shift. More than half of the advertisers surveyed ranked the short-form video giant as the leading platform for advanced marketing automation. To capitalize on this, TikTok is expanding its “Smart+” and “Symphony” suites—tools designed to automate the entire advertising lifecycle, from scriptwriting and video production to targeting and bidding.
The “Smart+” system allows advertisers to input basic assets and budgets, while the AI automatically selects the best creative and audience in real-time. Meanwhile, the “Symphony” creative suite uses generative AI to produce “TikTok-first” ads in seconds, a move aimed at helping brands keep pace with rapidly shifting internet trends.
Despite the slow start to full-scale integration, the appetite for automation remains aggressive. Approximately 62 percent of those surveyed predicted that AI could eventually halve departmental costs. However, the report concludes that for these savings to materialize, brands must move away from “piecemeal” experiments and toward cohesive, self-powering AI engines.
As marketers face a “return on effort” crisis, the industry’s focus is shifting toward tools that offer predictive insights and personalized scale—capabilities that 96 percent of surveyed advertisers expect to increase their use of over the next six months.
