Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo: Day 1 Highlights

We are bringing you news and highlights from Day 1 of the 2026 Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo, taking place this week in Denver. Below is a collection of the key announcements and insights coming out of the conference. 

On Day 1, we are highlighting sessions on how CMOs can use AI to drive real revenue growth, how to capture and sustain AI value and how genius digital marketing brands excel with AI. 

• Gartner Marketing Survey Finds Awareness and Conversion Account for 62.6% of Total Media Spend

By Jay Wilson, VP Analyst, Gartner, Kristina LaRocca-Cerrone, VP Analyst, Gartner

2026 marks an inflection point for marketing leaders navigating the rapid rise of AI. In the opening keynote, Gartner Marketing Practice VP Analysts, Kristina LaRocca-Cerrone and Jay Wilson, said most organizations have not yet realized AI’s full potential. They explained how CMOs can use AI to drive real revenue growth.

• “AI is no longer a marketing experiment. It is now a defining force shaping customer engagement, team performance and the role of the CMO.” 

• “Like any other big initiative, learning AI and turning it into a competitive advantage takes time. Shifting from AI curiosity to AI competence is how AI can enable marketers to better differentiate their brands.”

• “There are three stages to AI maturity:

  • Curious: when you are building foundational AI literacy and basic skills; 

  • AI competent: when you are doing and investing more in AI and facing higher business expectations as a result; 

  • AI confidence: when you begin adapting and linking skills together and implement agents into campaigns and budgets.”

• “The final stage of AI proficiency isn’t a final destination. It’s a state of being…and it’s the start of what’s next: using AI in marketing to drive real growth.”

• “AI demands a new kind of CMO. The leaders who win will not be the ones using AI only for personal productivity, but the ones using it to shape new relationships with the CIO, CFO, HR and to position marketing as a stronger strategic partner across the enterprise.” 

   

  Journalists can receive additional information and/or request an interview with Jay Wilson or Kristina LaRocca-Cerrone by contacting Juliette Dixon at juliette.dixon@gartner.com.