The world’s biggest brands are using AI to transform every stage of the customer journey, from content creation to measurement. Torrence Boone, VP of global client and agency solutions at Google, has a front-row seat to this revolution, working directly with the C-suites of the world’s largest brands and agencies.
Based on proprietary research and his work with customers, Boone shares key takeaways as a playbook for chief marketing officers looking to lead the charge on AI transformation. The message is clear: The most effective leaders are moving past the “why” and focusing on the “how,” and they’re doing it with a clear strategy, pushing the boundaries of creativity and technology to lead their companies through growth.
A conversation with Torrence Boone
Think with Google: How are some CMOs moving from being overwhelmed by AI to confidently leading their organizations through transformation?
Torrence Boone: The paradox for marketers today is what we call the “inspiration-to-action gap.” CMOs are inspired by AI’s promise but are often paralyzed by the complexity. They’re struggling to distinguish real opportunities from the hype, clear the internal collaboration hurdles, and, most critically, scale solutions beyond the pilot phase.
To cut through the noise and scale AI solutions beyond pilots, CMOs must go back to the basics of marketing strategy. This involves first aligning on three to five critical objectives that ladder up to the broader business strategy and have C-suite sponsorship. For an AI strategy to succeed, you have to be realistic about your company’s readiness. Without the right foundation in place, you’ll be limited in what you can achieve, and risk wasting time and money.
How are top CMOs putting AI to work and getting real results?
The key is to start with a clear strategy. Keep in mind, you don’t need an AI strategy. You need AI to support your business strategy. So start by identifying your most important business challenges AI can help solve and pursue quick wins with off-the-shelf tools before committing to custom solutions. Next, mobilize people by securing a strong alliance with the CEO, CFO, and CIO. Companies with executive sponsorship are 1.5X more likely to realize value from their AI initiatives, according to research from McKinsey. Finally, model the process by adopting a structured approach to test, refine, and scale solutions while ensuring a strong data foundation and providing the necessary training and incentives for their teams.
The CMO’s true organizational power lies in representing the voice of the customer.
What is the CMO’s unique mandate in driving AI transformation?
The CMO’s true organizational power lies in representing the voice of the customer. We’ve seen CMOs use consumer data and AI to find breakthrough customer insights to inform product development and innovation. They are using AI to improve demand forecasting models, which help drive supply chain optimization and inventory management — critical dimensions of business performance.
We also have clients that are using AI to add rigor to the measurement of their media spend. They are using the analytical power of AI to improve outcomes-based planning, especially incrementality, to prove marketing’s impact on revenue growth. And yes, they are also using AI to drive significant cost efficiencies, reducing nonworking media spend and improving the overall profit and loss statement. By owning the customer relationship through data and insights, we are seeing CMOs firmly establish themselves as a growth driver for the company, rather than a cost center.
What do you tell CMOs who want to get started tomorrow? What kinds of action plans do you recommend?
First of all, we help CMOs make sure their plans are realistic and in line with the organization’s tech maturity and core marketing objectives. We recommend starting with off-the-shelf solutions that deliver rapid results and are easily integrated into existing marketing processes. For example, ensure your media campaigns are built for the AI era by using the Power Pack — AI Max for Search, Performance Max, and Demand Gen — to drive performance across Search and YouTube.
Another key priority for CMOs should be AI-driven creative optimization, which is now enabled through tools, like Asset Studio in Google Ads, and robust APIs we’ve integrated into agency and other third-party solutions. We’re seeing a consistent pattern: Even for major global brands, very few creative assets are leveraging scaled personalization. However, when they are implemented, these tools can immediately drive meaningful increases in campaign ROI.
For a long-term competitive edge, consider custom-built solutions, but only for unique business challenges that off-the-shelf tools can’t address. These require a robust data foundation and close partnership with the CTO. Ultimately, the key is to develop a strategic and phased approach matched to the organization’s readiness. And key to this is having a solid foundation before advancing to more resource-intensive projects. Without this alignment, we see lots of expensive pilots that don’t deliver ROI.
What insights has Google gained from its own AI journey that can help other CMOs?
We are on this journey right alongside our clients, and one of our biggest lessons has been the necessary cultural shift. For years, our marketing analytics focused on backward-looking reports. AI adoption forced us to change our entire operating rhythm, moving from a culture of reporting to one of prediction and simulation. This required our teams to not just learn new skills but to embrace a new mindset. Instead of asking, “How did last month’s campaign perform?” we now ask, “What are the 10,000 different ways our campaign could perform next month, and which variables will give us the highest probability of success?” For example, we used AI to optimize creative variations for our National Women’s Soccer Team campaign for Pixel, achieving real-time media agility and outstanding results.
What are some inspiring examples of AI in action?
One of my favorite AI-powered campaigns is the Iams I Want a Puppy/Kitten Studios project. The project lets users create a personalized video trailer to convince someone to get a new pet. We partnered closely with the brand’s agency to flesh out the idea, which was developed using Veo 2. It’s a great example of AI’s ability to generate endless creative variations without needing physical production elements or sets, and to personalize the customer experience to drive engagement. The campaign went from initial outreach to a live launch in just a few months, and it is a perfect example of how AI can accelerate creativity and get a groundbreaking idea to market fast.
The Moncler project, From the Mountains to the City, is another example of AI’s power to create “impossible” content. Using Google’s Veo generative video model, the project delivered a surreal, high-quality film that would have been cost prohibitive to produce traditionally. The experimental brand film proved that AI is not a creative replacement but a powerful new collaborator for brands, enabling complex, visually rich storytelling at a fraction of the time and cost. This project also led R/GA to innovate its workflow. The agency developed a custom node-based tool called Shot Flow, which provided a shared workspace for consistent prompting, helping a global team to collaborate and maintain creative direction.
The Final Word
AI is not just another tool in the marketing tool kit. It’s a fundamental rewiring of how businesses understand, engage, and serve their customers. For the CMO, this is the moment to step beyond the traditional confines of the marketing function and become the architect of customer-led growth for the entire enterprise. The path isn’t easy, but the mandate is clear, and the opportunity is historic. By mapping your priorities, mobilizing your people, and modeling your process, you can move beyond pilot purgatory to unlock the transformative value AI promises.
