A third of UK marketers struggle to balance AI with human creativity

London, UK, May 20, 2025 – A third (30%) of UK marketers say their organization struggles to balance the use of AI with human creativity in major campaigns, highlighting a growing challenge in the race for brands to do more with less.

That’s according to the Optimize Everything report from Optimizely, the leading digital experience platform, which explores how marketers are using AI—and why it isn’t always landing with consumers. Based on a study of 100 marketers and 1000 consumers in the UK, the report reveals a growing disconnect between how AI is used in marketing, and how it is being experienced by customers.

While 78% of marketers plan to increase their use of AI-generated content for seasonal campaigns, more than half of consumers (57%) say this content feels ‘impersonal’ and ‘repetitive.’ Meanwhile, 56% believe brands rely too heavily on AI and fail to deliver genuinely personalized experiences.

And marketers are noticing it too. Almost a quarter (24%) admit that AI-generated decisions often lack human oversight, leading to inconsistencies, while 16% say that the output doesn’t match their brand’s tone of voice.

At the same time, expectations are higher than ever. According to 84% of marketers, consumers now demand more personalization than ever before during major campaigns. And while brands are making progress with 62% of consumers saying that website experiences feel personalized, and 60% saying the same for email (a 6% increase on last year), other touchpoints are falling short. Less than half rate personalization in conversational channels as good or excellent, while 16% rate them as ‘poor’ or even ‘terrible’. The same is true for online ads, which one in seven consumers (15%) rate as ‘poor’ or ‘terrible’ for personalization.

Despite some AI-generated content falling short, there’s a clear opportunity for marketers to optimize how they use the technology. Nearly half (46%) of consumers say that they are happy for AI to be used if it results in more relevant and personalized content, showing that the issue isn’t AI itself, but with how it’s applied.

Integration is key. Today, only 24% of marketers have a well-integrated system, but encouragingly, one in five are actively consolidating their tech stacks to fix that gap.

On top of that, 41% of marketers say that better integration of AI with their marketing tools is their biggest opportunity for optimization this year, and over half (53%) want a more unified system that connects AI with content, personalization, and experimentation.

Given this potential, Optimizely’s report argues that AI can help marketers create more personalized, and even ‘human’ experiences—but only if it’s optimized and integrated correctly.

"Marketers today are being asked to move faster and do more with less," said Tara Corey, SVP, Marketing at Optimizely. "AI has incredible potential to help, but it’s not a magic wand. It needs to be paired with thoughtful experimentation, creative direction, and constant fine-tuning. The brands that are truly standing out are the ones blending AI with personalization and bold, data-driven experimentation—creating digital experiences that feel fresh, relevant, and unmistakably on-brand."

Optimizely’s platform combines AI, real-time experimentation, and personalization—providing marketers with the tools needed to simplify their tech stacks, speed up decision-making, and deliver optimized experiences across every touchpoint.

To learn more about the Optimizely One platform and its AI offerings, visit: https://www.optimizely.com/ai/