The state of marketing and AI: Intentional AI integration Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email Organizations need to stop thinking about AI as a tool and start treating it as infrastructure, with trust embedded at every step Right now, many organizations are still treating AI as a layer on top of existing workflows or a collection of tools that generate outputs and help teams move faster. But generic AI produces generic results. It speeds up tasks but doesn’t create differentiation. Sound familiar? It’s because it’s common. Most organizations are still in this phase, experimenting through pilots, point solutions, and ad hoc use cases. If organizations are going to succeed in an era of tech-driven transformation, AI must be treated as foundational – intentionally integrated rather than bolted on as an afterthought. From tool to teammate To drive real value, organizations need to weave AI into their creative process end-to-end — across briefing, production, and distribution — not deploy it as a standalone tool for isolated tasks. That means training it on brand assets, connecting it to the platforms teams already use, and building workflows where AI handles the repeatable work so marketers can focus on the strategic. Organizations that haven’t made that shift yet are still getting generic outputs from disconnected pilots. And generic content doesn’t just underperform, it erodes consumer trust. Intentional integration is no longer an abstract vision; it’s now a practical reality enabled by Model Context Protocols (MCPs) and the rapid expansion of connectors between AI systems and core tools. For the first time, it’s possible to meaningfully weave AI across platforms, data, and processes, turning isolated tasks into integrated systems. It’s a shift felt across the industry, as teams stop viewing AI as a tool and start treating it as infrastructure. Canva is at the forefront of this change, recently introducing Canva AI 2.0, which transforms the online design platform into a conversational, agentic design platform. AI is now embedded throughout the online design platform’s editor, so teams can go from idea to on-brand, published work in one place. But it’s more than just tooling that needs to change, it’s company culture and team structures, too. Canva is among a growing number of organizations who are future-proofing their company-wide workflows by weaving AI into internal processes with intention and upskilling employees. Building with trust at the center Before organizations dive straight from experimentation to integration, trust needs to be top of mind. Canva’s research reveals signals like disclosure, governance, and user control are becoming baseline expectations for consumers. Some 70% of consumers believe it will someday be impossible to tell if an ad is AI-made unless there’s disclosure – and 56% believe this will happen within 2-5 years. Almost three quarters of consumers say they’d be more comfortable with AI-generated advertising if there were formal organizational policies governing its use. This is particularly relevant right now: the EU AI Act’s Article 50 , set to take effect largely in August 2026, introduces transparency obligations, including labeling certain AI-generated content. Speaking of AI comfortability, consumers are clear about what builds trust. Over half cite data protection and also AI usage disclosure as important, for example. And above all, consumers want control: 80% wish they could “set” how personal their ads get, “like a privacy slider.” In short, trust is the emerging moat and organizations need to build it into their processes – trust isn’t a PR line, it’s a product and policy posture. As detection becomes harder, disclosure and governance become more important. And as AI becomes more embedded, consumers expect visibility, reassurance, and choice. What it means for you … the path forward is clear AI advantage compounds when organizations invest, tailor, and embed directly into daily workflows with clear guardrails and measurement. Achieving this requires investing in organizational readiness and appetite for innovation. It’s essential to begin building AI literacy internally and evolving team structures, setting clear governance policies, while encouraging teams to dream up new workflows where AI is a co-creator. In this model, AI becomes a strategic partner that complements human creativity and drives true customer value. It’s a win win. Your next steps: How do I embed AI into our organization as trusted infrastructure? 1. Design for connected workflows: Map your end-to-end marketing workflows and identify where AI can connect steps, not just speed them up. For a quick win, try it out with Canva. 2. Empower teams to build: A new behavior is emerging among advanced marketers: “vibe coding.” Encourage teams to prototype their own marketing needs using AI-powered platforms. 3. Train AI on your brand: Build a foundation of brand-specific data by uploading past campaigns, product messaging, and visual assets so your AI systems are trained on the right inputs. 4. Formulate a clear AI use policy: Align and document when and how AI should be used in content, creative, and communication. Add lightweight signals (e.g. “Generated by AI, reviewed by our team”) so users know when and how AI was used. Include guidance on disclosure and reviews. This content is paid for and supplied by the advertiser. Find out more with our commercial content explainer.