Generative AI and the Modern Marketer: An Exploratory Survey on Tool Use, Perceptions, and Future Skills

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools—such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini—has rapidly transformed digital marketing workflows, prompting both opportunity and unease among professionals. This paper presents findings from a pilot survey of 19 digital marketing practitioners based in Romania, primarily from major urban centers such as Bucharest and Cluj. Designed to capture how GenAI tools are being adopted, perceived, and integrated into everyday tasks, the study explores tool usage frequency, primary use cases, perceived benefits and risks, and evolving skill demands. Respondents reported widespread daily use of generative AI, especially for content creation, social media campaigns, and SEO optimization. While most professionals acknowledged measurable productivity gains, they also expressed concerns related to brand consistency, content authenticity, and ethical ambiguity. A significant majority felt the need to acquire new skills to remain competitive, yet few reported having access to formal organizational policies on AI use. These insights reflect an ongoing shift toward hybrid human-AI collaboration and underline the urgent need for strategic upskilling, ethical guidance, and institutional readiness. This study contributes to the growing literature on AI adoption in creative industries, offering a user-centered perspective on how marketing professionals are adapting to the generative era.