Marketing and PR leaders are AI-induced anxiety around job security, sleepless nights over SEO volatility and landing PR coverage, new data has revealed.

According to search-driven content agency No Brainer, which surveyed 500 UK marketing decision-makers, 17% said search engine updates and volatility were the biggest challenge for 2024.

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This was closely followed by in-house skills and up-skilling (16%), anxiety about being replaced by AI (16%), landing media coverage relevant to target customers (15%) and attribution and ROI (15%).

Other challenges included maintaining and growing visibility on search (15%) and market and competitor activity (14%).

However, despite many are AI-induced anxiety around job security, 14% of those surveyed revealed another challenge of the year is understanding about AI could be used.

No Brainer, Managing Director, Gary Jenkins said: “Search, marketing, and PR are industries that have always experienced volatility and change – it’s something many of us working in these industries are used to, and embrace. However, in recent years this seems to have hit new levels and that doesn’t seem to be going to change any time soon.

“There’s a huge amount of complexity and convergence in marketing now, and what agencies like us have to do is help marketing and PR leaders adapt to the shifting landscape in new ways – managing and mitigating the risks, but also seizing the opportunities there for the taking.”

He added: “In an industry historically blighted by burn-out and poor mental health, it’s so interesting to see the threats posed to marketers’ careers by AI is adding another complex layer to those challenges.”