This week’s question from one of our prospects comes around 2026 planning for AI skills:

“Has anyone redesigned their marketing career frameworks to account for AI capabilities? And how are you handling the fact that AI proficiency doesn’t map to traditional seniority?”

We can share what we’ve seen elsewhere across clients and other conversations we’ve participated in. Nearly all our clients are evaluating skills heading into 2026, many leaders are really challenged around how to upskill their existing teams in AI beyond a tactic like Account Based.

AI adoption doesn’t seem to correlate with traditional tenure or experience levels, which is a pattern we’ve consistently observed. The early career coordinators often have less to “unlearn” and fewer established workflows to disrupt, making them more naturally experimental with AI tools.

Several marketing leaders are grappling with similar challenges around updating career progression frameworks, so our prospect is not alone. From recent discussions among CMOs, there’s a growing consensus that traditional skill matrices need fundamental restructuring rather than just adding “AI skills” as another checkbox. What is most important is that these AI skills transcend all roles vs. individual roles.

The key shift is moving from tenure-based to impact-based progression, where AI proficiency becomes a multiplier rather than a standalone skill. Some organizations are implementing frameworks that evaluate:

• AI-Enhanced Strategic Thinking: Can the person use AI to elevate their strategic contributions rather than just automate tasks? This separates those who use AI as a productivity tool from those who leverage it for business transformation
• Cross-Functional AI Orchestration: As AI breaks down traditional silos, the ability to build AI workflows that span departments becomes increasingly valuable. Some teams are seeing marketing professionals become “go-to-market architects” by creating AI systems that connect marketing, sales, and customer success
• Adaptability and Learning Velocity: Given how rapidly AI capabilities evolve, the ability to continuously learn and adapt new tools becomes more important than accumulated years of experience with legacy approaches

For a tenure vs. impact challenge, consider implementing AI literacy assessments tied to business outcomes rather than tool usage. Some leaders are requiring team members to demonstrate how they’ve used AI to drive measurable results which can range from content creation efficiency, campaign performance improvements, to process optimization – as part of promotion discussions.

The most successful approach seems to be creating “AI-forward” expectations where everyone, regardless of level, is expected to advance their AI capabilities to remain relevant, while tying advancement to demonstrated business impact rather than time served.