The marketer’s new job title: AI boss
AI is changing marketing roles. This article explains why managing agents will become part of the job.
Marketers are becoming AI bosses.
This means they will lead and manage AI agents to complete marketing tasks that used to be done manually.
According to Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index, two new roles are reshaping how companies operate: the AI agent and the AI boss.
AI agents are systems that can research, plan, create, and optimize with little human input. In marketing, AI agents are already being used to research audiences, suggest campaign strategies, draft content, and build performance reports.
Instead of doing all this work themselves, marketers will guide AI agents—assigning tasks, setting goals, checking outputs, and adjusting results as needed.
This new way of working will shift marketing roles from direct task execution to managing workflows that include AI at every step.
The report makes it clear: managing AI agents will no longer be a niche skill.
It will become a normal part of marketing jobs across creative, strategy, analytics, and campaign teams.
Short on time?
Here’s a quick look at what’s inside:
- Marketers will lead both humans and AI agents
- The shift from doing the work to managing the work is happening now
- New skills marketers need to build
- Teams that adapt early will be stronger
Marketers will lead both humans and AI agents
AI agents are moving beyond simple automation.
According to the report, companies are progressing through three stages: first, AI assists with basic tasks; second, AI agents take on assigned parts of projects; finally, AI agents handle full workflows, with humans providing guidance and review.
In marketing, this shift means agents will be involved in audience research, campaign planning, content drafting, and reporting.
Marketers will not carry out every task themselves but will assign work to AI agents and oversee the outputs.
Directing agents will become part of daily marketing operations, ensuring that final results meet brand guidelines and business objectives.
The shift from doing the work to managing the work is happening now
A gap exists between leadership expectations and employee readiness.
While 67% of leaders feel confident managing AI agents, only 40% of employees report feeling ready.
Other industries show how this change is taking place.
Dow uses AI agents to find billing errors in supply chains, and Wells Fargo has rolled out an AI agent helping thousands of bankers retrieve customer information.
In these cases, the employee’s role is no longer to complete every step, but to manage and verify work completed by AI.
Marketing is moving in the same direction.
AI agents will increasingly handle research, first drafts, performance tracking, and early campaign ideas.
Marketers will step in to guide, review, and finalize the work.
New skills marketers need to build
Working with AI agents will require marketers to develop specific new skills.
One important skill is the ability to give precise and actionable instructions to agents, ensuring tasks are completed correctly and aligned with marketing strategies.
Another key ability is reviewing AI-generated outputs critically.
Marketers must identify errors, gaps, and areas that need improvement before the work reaches customers or internal stakeholders.
This shift also demands stronger project leadership. Marketers must plan workflows that combine human input with AI automation without losing quality or consistency.
Microsoft refers to this way of working as "building informed trust".
Trusting AI agents to produce first drafts, but always validating and improving outputs before relying on them.
These skills will become essential across marketing roles, including creative content, advertising, data analysis, and customer engagement.
Teams that adapt early will be stronger
Teams that build AI management skills early are seeing measurable benefits.
According to the report, 67% of leaders say AI tools save them at least one hour every day.
Additionally, 79% believe AI will help them advance in their careers faster than peers who do not adapt.
Some companies already assign junior marketers to oversee AI-managed campaign work.
Instead of expanding headcount, these businesses combine small human teams with multiple AI agents to handle larger marketing outputs.
Teams that adapt will complete more projects, respond quicker to market changes, and make better use of available resources.
Managing AI agents will become a basic part of marketing operations. This includes giving clear tasks, reviewing work critically, and improving results as companies move toward AI-supported team structures.
Source
- Microsoft, 2025 Work Trend Index Annual Report
