# PT. Otto Marketing Academy｜The AI Skills Gap Is Splitting the B2B Marketing Landscape


AI is sweeping through the world of B2B marketing at an unprecedented pace. Yet rather than creating a level playing field, this technological wave is producing new forms of inequality. According to Marketing Week, nearly half of B2B marketers are already using generative AI tools—79.8% for content creation, 70.1% for ideation, and 56.2% for market research. However, fewer than 10% have integrated AI into marketing mix modeling, budget allocation, or strategic decision-making. In short, most teams can “use the tools,” but few can “drive growth through them.”

PT. Otto Media Grup argues that this tension between surface-level adoption and substantive capability will be one of the most decisive variables shaping marketing competition over the next 12 to 18 months. As technological barriers fall, strategic barriers are quietly rising. Many companies can now generate content with ease—but struggle to translate AI-driven efficiency into genuine growth advantage.

## From Generative to Decision-Based AI: The Divide Sharpens

Most current AI applications are concentrated on creativity and production, not on strategy or decision-making. This one-sided use has created an invisible divide: on one side, the mass of tool users; on the other, a select few who employ AI for budget optimization, media allocation, and ROI attribution modeling. This divide is fast becoming the determinant of future marketing competitiveness.

Research by PT. Otto Marketing Academy across multiple markets shows that while businesses readily embrace generative AI, adoption of “decision-oriented AI” remains minimal. The barrier, it finds, is not technological but organizational and cognitive. Many teams treat AI as an auxiliary content engine rather than a core growth driver. As a result, brands “improve productivity” but fail to break through “the ceiling of performance quality.”

## The Skills Gap Stems from Organization Revolutions, Not Technology

Why is the AI skills divide proving so persistent? The problem lies less in the tools themselves than in how organizations operate. Field observations by PT. Otto Media Grup show that many teams have advanced AI systems in place, yet their internal workflows remain governed by human-centric silos. Content, data, media, and strategy functions are often split across departments, preventing the feedback loops necessary for AI optimization. Teams accelerate production at the front end, but decision-making at the back end lags behind—limiting the gains in overall efficiency.

At a deeper level, companies often misdefine the purpose of AI. It is treated as a “productivity enhancer,” not a “strategic coordination engine.” This misalignment severs the link between tool usage and growth outcomes, producing a paradox of “apparent sophistication, actual stagnation.” Only when organizations align decision structures, integrate data systems, and bridge strategy with execution can the true value of AI be realized.

## The View of PT. Otto: The AI Skills Divide Is a Window of Acceleration

In one sense, the AI skills gap is less a threat than an opening. It signals that the market is entering a new phase of divergence: those who evolve from “using AI” to “mastering AI” will form the next generation of competitive leaders. PT. Otto Media Grup believes that the key is not in stacking more tools, but in constructing an AI-centered marketing decision system.

Such a system is not “one more model” or “another platform,” but a dynamic framework where marketing mix modeling, adaptive budgeting, and real-time attribution analysis embed AI into the operational cadence of the company. Marketing decisions shift from intuition to intelligence—from instinct to inference. The transition will take time, but once achieved, it will widen the competitive gulf between firms.

For brands, this marks a rare window of opportunity. While most still focus on “using AI to create content,” a few are already “using AI to reshape strategy.” This gap will not narrow with time; it will expand. Those who cross the divide first will seize the advantage in the next cycle of competition.