Marketers are pouring time and money into generative AI tools, yet seeing little in return — and it’s impacting their bottom line. That’s according to new research from Hootsuite, based on a survey of social media managers (SMMs) and senior marketing leaders across the UK and US.
AI adoption is soaring, with nearly 80% of SMMs using AI tools up to 20 times a day and 83% of marketing leaders increasing their AI budgets. Yet higher use and spend haven’t translated into stronger results or greater confidence. At the core of the issue: most generative AI tools rely on outdated static web data or external sources that aren’t designed for the real-time, fast-changing pace of social media. In response, Hootsuite has launched OwlyGPT: an generative AI assistant built for social media.
New Digital Age spoke to Billy Jones, Head of Marketing at Hootsuite, to find out more…
Why did you commission the new research?
The social industry is facing an AI paradox. Social media managers (SMMs) are under pressure to move fast, make bold decisions, and deliver business results – and increasingly, they’re turning to AI tools to surface the insights that guide those decisions. At the same time, marketing leaders are doubling down on AI – encouraging adoption across their teams in the name of efficiency.
But here’s the issue: most traditional AI tools weren’t built for the pace or complexity of social. They surface stale data – sometimes weeks or months old – and that simply doesn’t cut it for marketers operating in real-time culture.
That disconnect is what led us to create OwlyGPT, the first social AI assistant built for social media based on real-time social data. But we wanted to go even deeper. We set out to validate what we were hearing from our users and understand whether marketing leaders are (whether they realize it or not) settling for ‘more efficient’ instead of ‘more effective.’
Do marketing leaders understand the limitations of the tools their teams rely on? Do social teams feel equipped to keep up with the pace of real-time culture? And can AI help close that gap – not just by saving time, but by enabling smarter, faster decisions?
In a world where marketers are being asked to take bigger risks and deliver faster results, the gap between AI investment and performance is too costly to ignore. Our research is helping to start that conversation, showing leaders that the tools their teams are relying on aren’t just inefficient – they’re holding teams back and wasting valuable time (and budget).
What were the key findings for you?
Unsurprisingly, AI adoption is accelerating. Just a year ago, nearly half of social media managers feared AI could replace them. Today, 80% use AI tools up to 20 times a day. That’s a massive shift in behavior. And with 88% of senior marketers actively encouraging AI use across their teams, the focus now isn’t on adoption – it’s on effectiveness.
That’s where things get more interesting and more concerning. One of the biggest gaps we uncovered is around real-time data, as there’s a clear disconnect between what senior leaders believe their AI tools deliver and what’s actually happening on the ground. While 64% of senior marketers believe their AI tools deliver up-to-the-minute insights, only 39% of social media managers agree.
The root of the problem: most generative AI tools rely on static web data with fixed knowledge cutoffs. These tools aren’t built for the speed of social – where trends can explode and disappear within hours. So while leaders believe they’re investing in cutting-edge tools, their teams are stuck manually chasing trends their tools should be surfacing.
What we’re seeing is a shift in the baseline: real-time isn’t a nice-to-have anymore – it’s the new bottom line. The brands that win are the ones that can spot cultural shifts early and act fast, with relevance and impact. With five billion people spending up to five hours a day online, social media is one of the richest sources of real-time data. Yet until now, it’s been largely untapped. The insights marketers truly need have been hiding in plain sight. That’s exactly what OwlyGPT is here to change.
Did any of the findings surprise you?
The level of wasted investment was eye-opening. 81% of senior marketers admitted they’ve spent budget on AI tools that didn’t deliver, and nearly a quarter said they’ve lost up to 20% of their entire marketing budget as a result.
On the ground, that inefficiency takes a real toll. Instead of streamlining workflows, these tools are adding friction, and many social teams are stuck compensating for the shortcomings. The limitations are pushing social teams into an exhausting manual grind: 40% of social media managers regularly verify AI outputs, and 47% spend 11 to 24 hours each week manually scanning platforms for relevant trends. That’s up to three full working days before even publishing a post, costing businesses nearly £25,000 per employee, per year in lost time.
This highlights a serious blind spot for many marketing leaders. It’s not that they aren’t trying to support their teams – it’s that the tools they’re investing in aren’t built for the realities of social. And without visibility into those day-to-day inefficiencies, ineffective tools will continue to drain budgets and burn out teams. This serves as a crucial wake-up call about the need for AI solutions designed specifically to meet the fast-paced demands of marketing.
How is Hootsuite utilising AI differently to bridge the AI-performance gap?
Traditional AI has its place, but it wasn’t built for marketers working at the speed of social. As mentioned, most generative AI tools surface publicly available web content, not real-time social data. Plus, they have fixed knowledge cutoffs, with many popular models only updated through early 2024 to April 2025.
If marketers can’t tap into what’s happening right now, they can’t respond effectively – and can’t drive impact. That’s the gap OwlyGPT is built to close.
OwlyGPT is the first generative AI assistant built for social media. It uses live social data to help marketers cut through the noise and create content that connects with what people actually care about in the moment.
And it’s personalised to each brand – meaning it understands the company’s voice, industry, and audience, so its outputs aren’t just timely – they are relevant and on-brand. Marketers get fresh, tailored insights that help them make smarter decisions when they are feeling more pressure than ever.
This goes far beyond generic AI. By grounding its insights in real, real-time conversations from actual customers, OwlyGPT delivers a level of authenticity and precision that traditional AI tools simply can’t match. In a time when marketing teams are under more pressure than ever, that kind of relevance isn’t just helpful – it’s essential.
