Three years after the initial tidal wave, AI has become an operational foundation
Generative AI, agentic AI, quantum AI… Marketing is undergoing a revolution. Patrick Xhonneux, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing, SAS, paints a promising picture.
AI is transforming marketing by automating tasks, personalizing customer experiences, and providing strategic insights for better decision-making. The first step with generative AI: 93% of CMOs are already seeing a significant ROI and have incorporated it into their budgets for 2026, according to a Coleman Parkes study for SAS.
In just one year, marketers have significantly increased their use of generative AI: 85% of them are now actively deploying this technology, compared to 75% in 2024.
Personalization, efficiency, time savings, operational costs…
“We’re no longer talking about pilot projects, but about an essential driver of marketing transformation,” says Patrick Xhonneux. “The benefits go far beyond simple time and cost savings. Improved customer loyalty and increased sales are now directly attributable to analytics and targeting optimized by generative AI.”
In 2024, marketers hoped that generative AI would streamline their operations and reduce their costs. In 2025, they are seeing even greater benefits: improved personalization, greater efficiency in processing large data sets, and savings in time and operating costs. There are also gains in terms of predictive accuracy, customer loyalty, and sales. In terms of tools, chatbots are at the forefront, followed by content generation and trend analysis.
Today, agentic AI is entering the scene
While AI tools such as chatbots can provide scripted responses, agentic AI excels at creating deeply personalized experiences at scale. It continuously integrates information about interactions with customer at every touchpoint to ensure that each engagement is personalized, intuitive, and contextually relevant. This level of precision creates genuine emotional resonance while transforming routine interactions into meaningful connections.
For Patrick Xhonneux, it’s a whole new dimension. “Rather than simply speeding up old workflows, AI agents are redefining what marketing teams can accomplish. They bring new value, both for marketing teams and for us as consumers. ” These agents represent a new generation of marketing tools; they can handle the complexity of data analysis and execution as proactive collaborative partners.
Agentic AI, the next dimension
Companies understand this well. “51% of companies plan to invest; the budgets are there, whether for tools, training, or usage analysis,” continues Patrick Xhonneux. Agentic AI is no longer a distant concept, but a reality that is transforming marketing at all levels. Whether it’s personalizing customer experiences, automating content creation, or analyzing complex data, AI offers concrete solutions and immediate results.“
At the same time, the functional scope is expanding. More advanced applications are emerging: synthetic data generation, the use of specialized language models, and the implementation of digital twins to simulate customer journeys. “This diversification indicates that AI is no longer seen as a supporting tool, but as a multiplier of impact in an overall marketing strategy.”
Tomorrow, quantum AI
No less than 50% of agential AI adopters say they have already integrated quantum computing into their roadmap! This figure, which may seem surprising at first glance, reflects a forward-thinking approach, according to Patrick Xhonneux.
“In the relatively near future, within five years, perhaps sooner, the parallel operation of hundreds of AI agents capable of generating audiences, orchestrating recommendations, and optimizing customer journeys in real time will require computing power that only quantum environments can support…”
This movement reveals a structuring dynamic: agentic AI is not an end in itself, but a step towards extended computational marketing, according to SAS.
We are on the cusp of integration between quantum computing and AI. This integration will become increasingly close as quantum technology develops. “We can therefore expect to see enormous technological advances,” says Patrick Xhonneux. “And, as a result, a transformation of existing methodologies. This will pave the way for new, more innovative ways of solving much more complex problems…”
Towards a hybrid, quantum-classical model
According to SAS, these future marketing systems will not simply be faster versions of current platforms. They will be autonomous, adaptive, and continuous. Marketing decisions will not be programmed; they will be made in real time. “Marketing will no longer just have to be reactive to consumer behavior . It will be able to anticipate in order to provide better service, and do so in a matter of microseconds.”
Significantly, 50% of users of agentic AI have already incorporated quantum AI into their roadmap. This is not yet the case in the Benelux, but it is only a matter of time. SAS is already noting interest from various sectors. In banking, in particular, advanced predictive analytics in risk management and fraud detection stands out as the main opportunity. In insurance, it is real-time customer journey simulation, while the pharmaceutical sector sees the potential for modeling faster and more efficient of new molecules . The public sector is not to be outdone: it shows above-average interest in synthetic data generation and dynamic pricing in a context where security private datais paramount…
“A large global consumer goods company is already working with us on a PoC related to hybrid quantum-classical optimization,” says Patrick Xhonneux.
Still in development, quantum AI does not replace classical AI, but opens up new possibilities where current models show their limitations. Its evolution will be gradual rather than sudden.
