How AI Will Revolutionize the Future of Business, According to HubSpot’s CMO
With new AI tools, integrations, and use cases coming out almost daily, I know it can be overwhelming to keep up with how AI is changing business. Take DeepSeek R1, for example. Created by Chinese company DeepSeek, the AI model turned the world on its head when it was first launched in January 2025. It disrupted the entire AI industry, helping researchers and marketers to do research, brainstorm, and generate content very quickly and at no cost. Most professionals believe AI innovations will be comparable to the industrial revolution. So, if you’re wondering exactly how AI is changing business, then you’ve come to the right place. At its core, I think the advent of AI means one big thing for the future of business: marketing, sales, and service professionals now have more time to work on complex, higher-impact work while AI takes care of mundane tasks. Here are a few ways AI’s already changing the workplace and what we can look forward to, according to our State of AI survey of 1,350 U.S. professionals. Table of Contents How AI Is Used in Business Today How AI Will Impact Business in the Future The Potential Dangers of AI in Business How AI Is Used in Business Today 1. Marketing Marketers across different organizations are leveraging AI to enhance their ability to target and effectively grab the attention of their audiences. Nearly 75% of marketers use AI to perform their day-to-day roles, and over 68% of marketing leaders who invested in AI report seeing a positive ROI, according to our recent State of AI in Marketing report. Research by Meta also reveals that campaigns that use AI-powered tools have an average click-through rate 11% higher and a conversion rate 7.6% higher compared to those not using AI. Example of AI in Marketing I think a great example is how multinational beverage company Coca-Cola used AI to create the “Masterpiece ad” in 2023. Although the company collaborated with some contemporary artists — like Wonderbuhle, Aket, F. Ramadan, S. Tejada, and V. Kushwah — and used some live action shots in the video, its use of AI-powered image generation and motion synthesis played a key role in creating fluid transitions between the painting and the real world. The result? A video that sparked global conversations and drove engagement, highlighting how forward-thinking brands can stay relevant in a digital space that is fast evolving by using AI to push the boundaries of creativity. Pro tip: If you’re looking to start leveraging AI in your marketing strategies and are unsure of where or how to start, check out HubSpot’s AI Sales and Marketing tools to help improve your team’s performance. 2. Analytics One of AI’s biggest selling points is its ability to comb through vast amounts of data and provide insights relevant to your needs. It’s like it promises to find the proverbial needle in the haystack in 30 seconds flat. This makes it possible for companies to consider big data in real time and provide predictions that can inform decisions. AI-powered analytics are transforming industries across the board. From retail to finance, banking and more, all kinds of businesses are now using AI to analyze the behaviors of their customers and what drives those behaviors. And that helps these businesses to create more tailored solutions that effectively serve customer needs. Examples of AI Analytics Did you know 80% of what we watch on Netflix are suggestions provided based on its analysis of individual watch history? According to Netflix, this highly personalized recommendation engine saves the streaming company from losing at least $1 billion every year. The model continuously learns from user behavior, watch history, and engagement patterns, refining its recommendations to keep subscribers hooked. But Netflix isn’t alone. I love how Marks & Spencer (M&S) has implemented AI technology to enhance its online shopping experience by offering personalized style advice. Customers could complete a quiz detailing their size and style preferences, and the AI system, combined with insights from in-house stylists, provided tailored outfit suggestions. This initiative led to significant engagement, with 450,000 shoppers using the feature. In addition, M&S further increased automation of product descriptions to 80%, aiming to boost its digital fashion sales to 50% by 2028, up from one-third at the time. Pro tip: To maximize AI-driven analytics, focus on clean and structured data — even the most advanced AI models need high-quality inputs to deliver valuable insights. 3. Operations Operations form the backbone of any business, and AI is proving to be a game-changer in this domain by automating repetitive tasks and optimizing complex processes. In manufacturing, for example, AI-powered robotic process automation (RPA) handles tasks like assembly, quality control, and inventory management. In fact, installations of industrial robots were at an all time high (the second highest in history) as of 2023, according to the International Federation of Robotics. Beyond retail and manufacturing, AI-driven process automation is helping businesses optimize scheduling, streamline logistics, and improve operational resilience — allowing companies to do more with less. Example of AI in Operations I think Walmart’s AI-and-machine learning-driven inventory management systems is a brilliant use case of AI operations. It focuses on demand forecasting, reducing understock and overstock situations by at least 35%. That is millions of dollars saved every year! Pro tip: AI works best in operations when paired with human oversight. The key is to automate the repetitive while keeping decision-making in human hands. 4. Customer Service and Support And then there’s the belle of the ball — the customers and how they are supported throughout their journey. Customers want faster and more personalized service, and integrating AI always gets this job done. Our State of Service report found that: 84% of customer support reps see AI as an instrumental tool for interacting with modern customers. 92% say that AI has improved their customer service response times. 77% believe that AI will handle most ticket resolutions by 2025. Beyond chatbots, AI-powered sentiment analysis also allows businesses to detect customer frustrations