It’s a provocative question, and one that we at The Marketing Centre have wrestled with. The short answer? No – at least not today. But AI is most certainly reshaping the role of the CMO, and the wider marketing function, offering a powerful opportunity for leaner, more efficient models.

Why the CMO role is more human than you think

In many startup conversations, marketing is reduced to tools and tactics – running social media ads, implementing PR campaigns, automating email communication, and analysing data. But that misunderstands the CMO’s real mandate, which goes far beyond execution. It’s about translating boardroom targets into an effective marketing strategy and aligning brand with culture.

That distinction matters. A CMO must convert the CEO’s vision and investor expectations into stories that customers, teams, and partners can buy into and act on. They must lead cross-functional change, ensure sales, product, operations, and finance are aligned, and build trust so their strategy is effectively executed. These are emotional and political challenges, not easily codified into algorithms or prompts. AI can amplify parts of the job, but is unable to offer human judgement, intuition and political skill.

AI as enabler, not usurper

AI today is a great tool for tactical tasks such audience segmentation, ad optimisation, and A/B testing. And it can manage the heavy lifting when it comes to analysing huge troves of data almost instantly.

These are powerful capabilities. In fact, according to CMSWire, 81% of startups who use AI report improved upsell and cross-sell performance, and 37% say they lowered customer acquisition costs.

The key is to treat AI as you would a team member – set goals, define expectations, and review performance. AI is excellent at the ‘what’ and the ‘how’, but humans must still decide the ‘why’ and the ‘what if’.

A skilled CMO will use AI to liberate time spent on routine tasks, allowing more focus on strategy, creativity, insight and leadership.

Fractional CMOs: a pragmatic bridge

Nowhere is this balance more critical than in cash-strapped startups. Many simply cannot afford a full-time marketing director or CMO. But, they cannot afford weak marketing leadership either.

This is where the fractional CMO model really comes into its own. With a permanent but part-time marketing leader (for example working in the business one to two days a week), startups get the strategic oversight, alignment, mentoring and board-level thinking a senior marketer brings but without the fixed overhead.

We at The Marketing Centre believe this is precisely the blend many startups need. Human insight, direction and oversight combined with machine-powered execution. That’s how you get both agility and coherence.

The evolving role of marketing leaders in an AI-powered world

What, then, will marketing leadership look like in five years? Already, CMOs are being recast as ‘AI conductors’, responsible for embedding AI into strategy, upskilling teams, governing model risk, ensuring ethical AI practices, and integrating human and machine insights.

Even large organisations are recognising that traditional marketing structures are ill-suited for this reality. The IBM ‘CMO revolution’ report argues that marketing must evolve from campaign-driven playbooks to outcome architects, with AI-enabled infrastructure as a core competence.

In startups, that evolution will be even more acute. The winners will be those who see AI not as a replacement for leadership, but as a catalyst for amplifying it.

No replacement, but a new paradigm

So, can AI replace a CMO for cash-strapped startups? My view is not now, and probably not anytime soon. At least not without sacrificing what makes marketing leadership truly valuable. The fact is that the core of a CMO’s role remains inherently human.

Perhaps the last word on the subject should go to the AI platforms themselves. Does ChatGPT, for example, think it can replace a CMO? It turns out not.

It says: “The human skills of judgement, empathy and storytelling are beyond AI’s reach. AI can amplify a CMO’s impact but cannot replace the role itself. The strongest start-ups will pair AI’s speed and insight with experienced marketing leadership to drive sustainable growth.”

At least humans and AI agree on that.

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