New research from TikTok in partnership with NewtonX released reveals a significant gap in advertisers’ ambitions for AI automation and its actual implementation.
The study reveals that 93 per cent of advertisers and executives expect AI-driven automation to help drive future business growth and 96 per cent believe it will improve their own job performance.
However, only 18 per cent have fully integrated AI into their core operations and invested at scale. Advertisers still face a number of implementation challenges, with data privacy and compliance, a lack of in-house skills and the speed of AI innovation all cited as hurdles to adoption.
Despite this gap, expectations are high. With 62 per cent predicting automation could halve departmental costs and 84 per cent expecting to see returns within a year.
Despite slow adoption for full integration of AI Automation, 78 per cent of executives surveyed are growing their focus on automation through AI initiatives and increasing investment in AI capabilities, but they need support to move from piecemeal strategies to a cohesive, self-powering engine of productivity.
Marketers are under pressure. An overwhelming majority of CMOs globally (87 per cent ) have experienced campaign performance issues in the last year and almost half were forced to terminate campaigns early due to poor results. It’s more important than ever to innovate creative and marketing strategies.
93 per cent of advertisers say TikTok’s AI-powered features help them move faster and adapt at the speed of culture, while 96 per cent expect to increase their use of TikTok’s automation tools over the next six months.
Shadi Kandil, General Manager, Global Business Solutions, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, Central and South Asia – TikTok, says, “AI Automation is becoming essential for marketers striving to stay ahead. With Smart+ and Symphony, we’re helping brands reach the right people, create culturally relevant content at scale, and maximise performance with less effort. By removing operational complexity, we’re enabling advertisers to focus on strategy and creativity that fuels growth.”
In previous Campaign Middle East coverage, The AI-powered platform playbook, leaders discussed how major platforms are using AI to optimise campaigns, anticipate audience behaviour, and streamline workflows — while noting that brands still face challenges in integrating these tools effectively.
Executives and advertisers already use AI automation across the funnel, but they want smarter analytics, predictive insights and more personalised tools to reach audiences. TikTok introduced updates to Smart+ and Symphony aimed at combining automation with creative tools for advertising.
The updates include a unified interface for managing campaigns, tools for generating TikTok-specific creative, and expanded attribution features to measure campaign performance.
