AI Budgets

Strategic AI Budgeting: A Roadmap for Marketers and Product Managers

As AI continues to reshape the way we engage customers and build products, marketers and product managers are being called to adopt new technologies with measurable outcomes and sustainable investment strategies. The conversation is no longer just about which tools to use but also how to budget for them effectively.

At the Cannes Lions 2025 CMO Insider breakfast, it was reported that 71% of CMOs now plan to allocate over $10 million annually to AI up significantly from 57% the year before. Despite this surge in spending, many organizations are still struggling to extract a clear ROI from these investments.

What this signals is a growing need for structured, strategic AI budgeting. Here are five key principles we recommend for teams looking to build a sustainable

approach to AI adoption:

1. Start with Clear Objectives and Use Cases

Before allocating any budget, identify how AI can address specific business challenges: customer segmentation, ad performance attribution, predictive analytics, or content generation. This step is essential to align your investment with outcomes that matter.

2. Take a Phased Investment Approach

Avoid front loading your entire budget. AI tools often require experimentation, feedback loops, and refinement. Phasing your investment across pilot projects and scaled rollouts reduces risk and creates learning opportunities.

3. Ensure Cross-Functional Alignment

AI initiatives shouldn’t operate in silos. From marketing to product to customer support, collaboration ensures that the tools implemented are usable, relevant, and aligned with how teams actually work. Creating working groups across functions like CarGurus’ “AI Forward” initiative can help streamline adoption.

4. Budget for Change Management and Training

Success with AI depends as much on people as on the tools themselves. Include training and internal communication in your budget to help teams embrace change and build confidence in using new systems.

5. Build in Measurement from Day One

Set clear KPIs and performance benchmarks for your AI tools. This not only helps demonstrate ROI but also guides future investment decisions based on real performance data.

At Brainyyack, we partner with marketing and product teams to implement AI in ways that are strategic, measurable, and sustainable. From funnel optimization and landing page personalization to product roadmap support, we help organizations move from experimentation to real impact.

If your team is working on building out your AI investment strategy, let’s talk. We’d be happy to share frameworks and tools we’ve used with clients across sectors.

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