Leaders Demand AI, But Ads Lack Requirements
A striking disconnect has emerged in the Australian marketing sector. According to BizCover’s 2025 report, 91% of marketers claim to use AI. However, only 3.5% of job advertisements require such skills, according to a recent analysis by My2Cents. This report analysed approximately 13,000 job ads posted from January to April 2026. Despite the high usage of AI tools in marketing, job ads rarely mention explicit AI requirements.
Seventy-five per cent of business leaders indicate a reluctance to hire without AI expertise. However, this demand is not reflected in job postings. My2Cents’ proprietary analysis reveals a major blind spot in hiring practices. The gap between AI usage and job requirements is evident. Employers often mention AI in the company boilerplate but do not include it in job descriptions.
Chris Jowsey, co-host of My2Cents and founder of Nugget Digital, emphasised the risk. He stated, “The governance bomb is already ticking, sitting in someone’s personal account with live client data in the prompt.”
AI in University Curricula
Universities also face challenges. In March 2026, My2Cents reported that 84% of marketing courses contain no AI content. Bond University and the University of Queensland are exceptions, integrating AI into 79% and 61% of their curricula, respectively. This creates a paradox where institutions hire for skills they largely do not teach.
Denise Rainey, co-host of My2Cents and director of Rainey Day Digital, remarked, “In many cases, the system appears to be moving faster than the skills it’s producing.” Institutions like RMIT are beginning to address this by adding AI-relevant units such as AI in Marketing and Enterprise AI and Business Analytics to their programs.
Workplace policies are lagging. Only 30% of organisations have an AI policy in place. This gap is compounded by the fact that 25% of employees use AI tools without informing their managers. According to the AHRI in December 2025, one in four Australian employees use AI without telling their manager.
These findings underscore a critical need for alignment between the skills demanded, those taught, and those formally recognised in job descriptions. Until these elements converge, the gap in AI marketing will likely persist. Employers must revise job ads to reflect the real skills they require.
The My2Cents analysis assessed marketing roles against a four-level AI capability framework. The levels range from Performative, where AI is mentioned but not required, to Transformative, where candidates must use AI to reshape marketing practices. The majority of job ads fall into the Performative category.
As technology advances, marketing practices evolve rapidly. Organisations must catch up with these changes. By updating job ads and university curricula, the industry can better prepare for the future. Without this, businesses risk falling behind in a competitive landscape. KPMG’s 2025 report highlights that only 30% of Australian organisations have a workplace AI policy, emphasizing the need for more comprehensive strategies.
