Gartner CMO Spend 2026: budgets at 7.8% of revenue, AI at 15.3% of marketing spend

• Marketing budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, which Gartner put at 18% lower than the mean allocation four years earlier.
• Budgets rose 1.3% since 2025, while 73% of CMOs described leadership's growth expectations as "high," "very high" or "overly ambitious."
• CMOs allocated 15.3% of budgets to artificial intelligence (AI), yet only 30% reported the mature AI readiness needed to scale it.
• Paid media reached 31.4% of budgets, funded by cuts to agencies, while loyalty and retention investment declined.
• Gartner framed the year as a trilemma: deliver more with limited resources, meet higher expectations and carry out AI transformation.
• Fewer CMOs reported exceeding targets, and more reported falling short on acquisition, retention and return on investment (ROI).

• 7.8%: average marketing budget as a share of company revenue, 2026 (section "The state of marketing budgets in 2026").
• 18%: how much lower the 2026 average budget share is than the mean allocation four years earlier (section "The state of marketing budgets in 2026").
• 1.3%: increase in marketing budgets since 2025 (section "CMOs face a sharpening set of trade-offs in 2026").
• 73%: share of CMOs describing growth expectations as high, very high or overly ambitious, 2026 (section "CMOs face a sharpening set of trade-offs in 2026").
• 15.3%: share of 2026 marketing budgets allocated to AI (section "Marketing's AI investments and capabilities").
• 30%: share of CMOs reporting mature AI readiness needed to scale, 2026 (section "Marketing's AI investments and capabilities").
• 31.4%: share of 2026 marketing budgets going to paid media (section "Investment trends in channels and resources").

• Compare your own budget as a share of revenue against the 7.8% average, and use the 18% decline since four years earlier to frame the board conversation.
• Sort current spend into three portfolios, near-term performance, growth and future readiness, and set a separate target for each.
• Check your AI share of budget against 15.3%, then list the data foundations, process maturity and governance work that scaling would require.
• Review consumption-based marketing technology contracts: monitor usage, renegotiate terms and add spending controls to limit cost volatility.
• Test whether any shift toward paid media and acquisition has cut retention, events or sponsorships, and add full-funnel measurement beyond last-click attribution.

• you need 2026 benchmarks for budget share of revenue, AI allocation and paid media share to set against your own plan.
• you are preparing a board case on the gap between budget growth and growth targets.
• you want Gartner's list of next steps for an AI-powered marketing organization, covering governance, agentic use cases, vision and roles.

The document: CMO Spend 2026 | Gartner. The article rests on figures reported by CMOs for 2026, compared with 2025 and with budget levels from 2022 onward; the page gives no sample size or field dates. It was written by Gartner analysts Ewan McIntyre and Rachel Dooley and published by Gartner on June 25, 2026. The page links to other Gartner material on AI skills and brand strategy, and its recommended next steps point toward further Gartner frameworks.

Related on CMO Tribune: Marketing budget as a percentage of revenue in 2026, by sector and business model; AI marketing budget 2026: the 15.3% benchmark, where the money goes, and how to set your own AI line; Average CMO Tenure by Index, Sector and Year.