> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.cmoalliance.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # CMO Insights Report 2026 - URL: https://www.cmoalliance.com/cmo-insights-report-2026/ - Published: 2026-08-27T07:29:14.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-01T10:30:57.000Z - Description: 50 CMOs on what changed in 2026: hiring criteria, AI adoption, ROI pressure, and brand vs. performance. Download the free report. - Author: Content Team - Tags: Reports 50 senior marketing leaders on hiring, AI adoption, budget pressure, and brand, based on structured surveys and long-form interviews. Free download. # CMOs now hire for AI skill first. A year ago it was last on the list. CMO Insights Report 2026 is based on structured surveys and long interviews with 50 senior marketing leaders: CMOs, VPs of marketing, and fractional marketing leaders across sectors, company sizes, and maturity stages. Inside, you'll find why tech and AI savviness overtook data literacy as the top hiring criteria in 12 months, why nearly two-thirds of marketing leaders say ROI pressure has risen sharply, and why CMOs trust their own strategy more than the tools meant to prove it's working. You'll come away with real numbers to check your team structure, your budget conversations, and your AI rollout against 50 of your peers. In partnership with **Webflow**, **Canto**, and **Haast**. [Download the report](#download) ![](https://v5.airtableusercontent.com/v3/u/57/57/1788271200000/12B2Dl68ahAfzhbyGXRIZA/u6eN64qwV1O2_XS1i_WJFQf9JY_wH-16Ql3NAX0KnJ4qBF02JSUKW77jBlTWOEUNJ7ojS-xhjRy9xlTTUsRTiDMbCGS8AToX0PoyBdffnKS1DN_Wud1wQ1JCMEMpEFXA1t69Yx4d-K0Ve1Rij9BmHHw1WBmbtwJApXLkM89Vza0iFtNqruLY594nffjBsjIH/bearE0uH0hIiLp8GGRYvuTXHjtrZAICjpc-7zFpB-Co) ![](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/reports/decal-1.svg) ![](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/reports/decal-2.svg) ![](https://v5.airtableusercontent.com/v3/u/57/57/1788271200000/JN0U4Fk6T4R9PJ3if375rg/lAiNYCRqQQQnfNSeM0uxwUvaG6PRbTGNioB6bSnhEweNBFZxaSf34i1Ee4H0q90NKchNrPaHKIdURLAQq3OR7iFmQVlmrx6UbnkSYz24_KxVI51dkdvQUq1eSeASdH7rXznFRKiYLKcdEi5aHLJMLqkTkTRTYIB1iFXS3_cklInnh_59btljR7r35gpN-BbRTraJb0kk3Xa0UmjIGgMMCA/KZsYt61R5jAZUzVHS5k9WTt3hbrMI5h8IeG2ijkzmXc) ## Who it's for This report is for CMOs, VPs of marketing, and marketing leaders planning past the next quarter. If you're rebuilding your team, defending your budget to the CEO, or deciding how much of your workflow to hand to AI, you'll find the specific numbers, quotes, and comparisons other marketing leaders are using to make those calls. [Grab your copy](#download) ## Produced in partnership with: **Headline partner:** - **Webflow** **Additional partners:** - **Canto** - **Haast** CMO Alliance and its sister communities under the Alliance umbrella have been publishing trusted, authoritative reports across industries and business functions for years. Led by insights from our global community of marketing leaders, one click is all that separates you from a CMO report stamped with the Alliance pedigree. (Oh, and it costs you nothing to download.) [Give me my copy](#download) ![](https://v5.airtableusercontent.com/v3/u/57/57/1788271200000/ZFmCmrrge4U3D3xBR0I4kg/Bfhcl2MNGSFs9GtzCxIWcQcnd_Mr__HYcwp6D-ehcmvUy2cuouDbN2KXJZFjFxEXwdS-7mtF_K1vhYB10PIXMEGXBaDDli0ezVSNc0usM9m0qDsroE5REvDc8iWX2t2zQz5onNCZRcLCVmnR7WWZhqYewHxWtr0Mhla6YXemtDpLaOS8I64rDw-ESQvsozpPBiXdjHXffjislUTlMbPLeg/VWZtMqaAlHGGvh0v-WXnSB66MPD_UMCl6QE5JpTy7J0) ## What you’ll discover ![](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/reports/decal-3.svg) ![bullet](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/check-bullet-point.svg) Why nearly **two-thirds** of marketing leaders say ROI pressure has risen sharply, and the specific complaint driving it: being reclassified as a cost, not an investment. ![bullet](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/check-bullet-point.svg) Why tech and AI savviness jumped from the least-valued hiring criteria in 2025 \*\*(8%) \*\*to the most-valued in 2026 **(72%)**, while data literacy fell from first to sixth. ![bullet](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/check-bullet-point.svg) Why **19%** of marketing leaders run no formal attribution model at all, and why a few deliberately run several models at once. ![bullet](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/check-bullet-point.svg) Why one CMO credits brand, not product quality, for Salesforce's ability to raise prices **6 to 11%** every year (David Slater, CMO at Front). ![bullet](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/check-bullet-point.svg) Why CMOs rate their strategy confidence at **7.5 out of 10**, but their trust in attribution data at just **2.8 out of 5**. ![bullet](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/check-bullet-point.svg) How some teams now produce the same output with **7 to 10** people that used to take **12 to 15**. [Give me my copy](#download) ## Get your copy The report is free. The data in it comes from 50 senior marketing leaders you won't find quoted anywhere else. Download it to check your hiring criteria, your AI rollout, and your budget conversation against theirs. You'll see the exact swing in hiring priorities, where CMOs' confidence in their own strategy outpaces their confidence in the tools meant to prove it's working, and how other marketing leaders are defending budget when marketing gets reclassified as a cost. ![Report Image](https://v5.airtableusercontent.com/v3/u/57/57/1788271200000/Uw_hPkjHgN9bnjXgmDK8_Q/AgJOlO3hd-I2uRdHICutWTOuhbK7w9nJZq17xNWDFLtSXYXdTy5p0i8Hd7997kXMMd3UVJYuSJwNK_9snbgc8P06TwYa4LZlGPNDgwRcN1qEfrUR_atQXgBNZ1H992a0i_41i7bg10POjTxM13lTyQ78c9BuuJQfPod5f4t3IiBf_Xwp6wedxpOhxlLBySZ7/0jLdSLh6E5moQQEMG48_9E6Z3seGbbWxjcnSvnQrI04) [Give me my copy](#download) ![](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/reports/decal-4.svg) ![](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/reports/decal-5.svg) ![](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/reports/decal-4.svg) ![Report Image](https://v5.airtableusercontent.com/v3/u/57/57/1788271200000/Uw_hPkjHgN9bnjXgmDK8_Q/AgJOlO3hd-I2uRdHICutWTOuhbK7w9nJZq17xNWDFLtSXYXdTy5p0i8Hd7997kXMMd3UVJYuSJwNK_9snbgc8P06TwYa4LZlGPNDgwRcN1qEfrUR_atQXgBNZ1H992a0i_41i7bg10POjTxM13lTyQ78c9BuuJQfPod5f4t3IiBf_Xwp6wedxpOhxlLBySZ7/0jLdSLh6E5moQQEMG48_9E6Z3seGbbWxjcnSvnQrI04) ## Get your copy The report is free. The data in it comes from 50 senior marketing leaders you won't find quoted anywhere else. Download it to check your hiring criteria, your AI rollout, and your budget conversation against theirs. You'll see the exact swing in hiring priorities, where CMOs' confidence in their own strategy outpaces their confidence in the tools meant to prove it's working, and how other marketing leaders are defending budget when marketing gets reclassified as a cost. [Give me my copy](#download) ![](https://www.cmoalliance.com/assets/img/reports/decal-5.svg)