Nearly half of B2B SaaS companies say they have already eliminated or reduced their marketing roles due to AI, according to a new report from Wynter. What’s surprising is that most of these reductions never translated into layoffs. Companies quietly stopped filling vacancies and let teams shrink over time.
Sixty percent of B2B marketers identified content and copywriting as the marketing functions most threatened by AI, according to the “How B2B Marketing Really Uses AI” report. The study also found increasing pressure on junior marketing roles as senior employees use AI tools to handle more execution tasks.
The report surveyed 100 directors, VPs and marketing leaders from mid-sized and enterprise SaaS companies about how AI is reshaping marketing teams. One of the clearest trends in the data is the gap between executive job security and prospects for lower-level positions.
Ninety-four percent of respondents said their current role would still exist in the same form over the next 24 months. Half said “definitely yes,” while 44% said “probably yes.”
At the same time, respondents noted that several marketing functions are expected to be reduced because of AI. Content and writing takes the top spot at 60%, followed by design and creation at 37%, product marketing management at 26%, junior and entry-level positions at 20%, marketing operations at 19%, and analytics at 18%.
Several interviewees described experienced marketers using AI systems like Claude to do work that once required multiple junior employees or contractors. One respondent said experienced marketers can now produce the same work as a junior employee “in just a few hours with Claude.” Another described shifting hiring plans toward senior AI-savvy employees instead of expanding junior teams.
The report describes the trend as “compression from the bottom,” in which senior marketers stay put while entry-level opportunities shrink. The long-term effect is a marketing industry that is struggling to find its next generation of senior talent because fewer people are being hired and those who are aren’t getting the early career experience they need.
The full report can be found here. (No registration required)
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Constantine von Hoffman is editor-in-chief of MarTech. A seasoned journalist, Con has covered business, finance, marketing and technology for CBSNews.com, Brandweek, CMO and Inc. He was an editor at the Boston Herald, a news producer at NPR and has written for Harvard Business Review, Boston Magazine, Sierra and many other publications. He has also been a professional stand-up comedian, has given talks at anime and video game conventions on everything from My Neighbor Totoro to the history of dice and board games, and is the author of the magical realist novel John Henry the Revelator. He lives in Boston with his wife, Jennifer, and too many or too few dogs.
