What Happened
The Australian Centre for AI in Marketing has announced the Global Centre for AI in Marketing (GCAM), an international platform designed to help marketing leaders assess how their organisations are adopting and governing AI.
The United States has been selected as the first international benchmark market. ACAM is running the US programme through a partnership with The CMO Syndicate. The inaugural US AI in Marketing Benchmark will collect data from CMOs and senior marketing executives across various industries, with results scheduled for release before the end of 2026.
Those findings will be presented at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., during the final quarter of the year. The US benchmark is intended to form a foundational reference for ongoing comparisons between the United States, Australia, and other markets GCAM adds over time.
Why It Matters
GCAM's stated purpose is to give marketing leaders a structured way to assess where their organisation stands relative to peers, rather than relying on vendor claims or internal estimates. According to ACAM, "AI is advancing faster than most organisations can build the leadership, capabilities and governance needed to use it well. That makes it increasingly difficult for CMOs to know whether they are truly progressing or simply experimenting."
The organisation argues that without credible external benchmarks, marketing investment in AI risks remaining fragmented. "CMOs don't need more AI tools, they need credible intelligence that shows where their organisation stands, how it compares and what will make the greatest commercial difference next," ACAM said in its announcement.
Separate data points from the Australian market illustrate the scale of the shift underway. Nearly half of Australians (47%) trust AI shopping recommendations more than advice from retail sales assistants, according to a survey commissioned by Manhattan Associates. On the B2B side, AI-driven account-based marketing programmes have produced a 2.3x increase in meetings booked, a 19.5 per cent rise in product usage in target accounts, and a 45 per cent higher meeting-to-conversion rate, according to figures cited by Mi3.
Key Details
GCAM's diagnostic framework evaluates organisations across seven maturity drivers: Leadership and Culture; Skills and Capability; Governance, Risk and Brand; Data and Technology Readiness; Use Cases and ROI; Team Design and Workflow; and Roadmap, Planning and Investment. Results are mapped across six maturity levels, giving marketing leaders a picture of where their organisation sits relative to industry peers.
ACAM described the platform's intent in direct terms: "GCAM will turn benchmark insight into action. It gives marketing leaders the evidence needed to focus investment, strengthen executive and board conversations, build team capability and create a structured pathway from isolated pilots to responsible, measurable transformation."
The organisation also framed the benchmark as a tool for prioritisation rather than general guidance. "The Global AI in Marketing Benchmark provides a credible way to understand where an organisation stands, where the gaps are and what to prioritise next," it said.
Background and Context
ACAM is an Australian body focused on AI adoption within the marketing profession. The launch of GCAM represents its first formal move into international benchmarking. The choice of the United States as the inaugural market reflects both the scale of the US marketing sector and the reach of the partner organisation, The CMO Syndicate.
Snowflake's global CMO, Denise Persson, has observed that "AI is set to collapse functions within B2B marketing we've been restrictively siloing our teams into for the last 20 years," a view that points to the structural questions GCAM's framework is designed to help organisations work through.
What Comes Next
The US benchmark data collection is under way, with publication expected before the end of 2026. The Georgetown University event in Washington, D.C., will be the first public presentation of results. ACAM has indicated that additional international markets will follow, with the US and Australian benchmarks forming the basis for cross-market comparison.