Will AI Replace Marketing Jobs in Australia? Here’s What to Do in 2025

Will AI replace marketing jobs in Australia? Not exactly - it's stripping out repeatable tasks while creating new demand for creativity, strategy and AI know‑how.

Australian data shows marketing is at the frontline of adoption: BizCover's Australian Small Business AI Report found 91% of marketing businesses already use AI and 87% call it important to day‑to‑day work, even as the advertising jobs market cools and some roles shift or shrink.

Industry and sector initiatives are now mapping these changes in real time, so the practical takeaway is clear: treat AI as a productivity multiplier, not a binary threat - learn to combine human judgement with AI tools, sharpen strategic and communication skills, and pick up hands‑on AI workflows (a good first step is a short practical course such as the AI Essentials for Work bootcamp or reading the full BizCover Australian Small Business AI Report (2025)), because those who orchestrate AI will be the ones who stay indispensable.

“It's not jobs that are at risk of AI, it's actual tasks and skills.” - Dr. Evan Shellshear

In Australia the change is granular: generative AI is quietly taking over repeatable marketing chores - think routine reporting, basic copy drafts and some campaign optimisation - while lifting the value of strategy, creative direction and people who can oversee AI outputs; Jobs and Skills Australia's modelling even lists “sales and marketing professionals” among occupations with projected declines by 2050, but stresses that around 79% of roles have low automation risk and medium‑to‑high augmentation potential, so most jobs will be reworked rather than erased (Jobs and Skills Australia automation and augmentation report - Business Insider).

That means marketers who can move from execution to orchestration - prompt design, creative strategy, quality control and human‑centred insights - will keep the edge, and practical tool choices matter (see a snapshot of the top AI tools for Australian marketers - practical guide).

A wake‑up detail: in some sectors demand for tasks evaporated fast - voice work for short content reportedly plunged by about 80% - showing how quickly specific tasks can disappear unless skills shift to higher‑value work (Guardian analysis of AI job impacts in Australia).

“It's not jobs that are at risk of AI, it's actual tasks and skills.” - Dr. Evan Shellshear

Adoption among Australian marketers has gone mainstream: BizCover's sector snapshot finds 91% of marketing businesses already use AI and 87% call it important to day‑to‑day work, signalling a rapid shift from experiment to everyday tool; many see productivity gains (55% expect a significant boost) even as skills gaps bite - 77% report trouble finding talent and 59% expect demand for new skills in the next 3–5 years.

The mood is largely positive (around three‑quarters of marketers) and pragmatic: 54% say AI will replace specific tasks but not whole roles, while 52% would consider AI instead of hiring or outsourcing for some work.

These figures point to orchestration and oversight - human strategy, quality control and creative direction - as the real differentiators, a point reinforced by broader economic analysis from PwC Australia's AI growth research and captured in BizCover's own Australian Small Business AI Report 2025, where marketers are portrayed as early adopters reshaping workflows faster than many sectors; the memorable takeaway: in marketing, AI is less a replacement and more like a new team member that needs a skilled manager.

“In my experience, marketers are often early adopters of new tech and AI is no exception. What stands out from these statistics is not just how many are using AI, but how central it's become to how they operate.” - Sharon Kenny

In Australia, marketing work is being split into two camps: repeatable, entry‑level tasks that AI can swallow and higher‑value roles that will expand - Jobs and Skills Australia flags “sales, marketing and public relations” professionals among those where some employment may fall as routine work is automated, and Microsoft and other analyses list writers, editors, advertising‑sales and market‑research roles as exposed to change; the sharpest, most memorable example is voice work for short content, which reportedly collapsed by about 80% in some pockets, showing how fast task demand can evaporate.

At the same time PwC's 2025 barometer shows AI‑exposed industries are growing revenue per worker and lifting wages for AI‑skilled staff, which points to rising demand for AI‑savvy strategists, data and analytics specialists, creative directors and campaign‑orchestration roles who can turn generative outputs into business value.

The practical takeaway for Australian marketers: protect your career by moving up the stack - from copy and reporting into prompt‑engineering, quality control, insight generation and strategy - because those who master AI orchestration will be in shortage, not surplus (Jobs and Skills Australia modelling - The Guardian report on AI and jobs; PwC Australia Global AI Jobs Barometer (2025)).

“It's not jobs that are at risk of AI, it's actual tasks and skills.” - Dr. Evan Shellshear

Prioritise AI literacy, data skills and creativity: BizCover's Australian Small Business AI Report shows the top upskilling areas for marketers are creativity (41%), AI/automation and data analytics (37%) and communication (32%), and 77% of small marketing businesses report difficulty finding skilled staff while 59% expect demand for new skills within 3–5 years; LinkedIn's 2025 Skills on the Rise likewise names AI literacy the fastest‑growing skill (AI hiring up 240% over eight years), so hands‑on familiarity with large language models, prompt design and analytics pipelines is essential, but equally important are human strengths - storytelling, strategic thinking and adaptability - that turn AI outputs into insight and persuasion.

Practically, experiment with the leading toolsets (see XPON's roundup of top AI marketing tools), build simple measurement flows for hyper‑personalisation and practise prompt testing so AI acts as a reliable teammate rather than a mysterious replacement - the memorable takeaway: LLM fluency plus creative judgement is the combination that keeps Australian marketers in demand.

“Your job is changing, even if you're not changing jobs. AI is elevating the value of human-centric abilities, with soft skills showing up strongly in LinkedIn's Skills on the Rise list.” - Cayla Dengate

Practical steps for Australian marketers start with a clear audit: list weekly marketing tasks, flag repetitive work ripe for automation and pilot AI in one high‑impact area (content generation, PPC optimisation or reporting) so results are measurable before scaling - Vendasta's playbook recommends phasing pilots, assigning AI champions and measuring time‑saved and KPI shifts.

Upskilling should pair fundamentals with hands‑on tool practice: begin with beginner courses and AI literacy material, then experiment with ChatGPT, image tools and ad automation to build real deliverables for a portfolio (case studies, A/B test results and documented prompt workflows); Robert Walters' guide to developing AI literacy outlines these stepwise moves.

Keep strategy front‑and‑centre - use the Australian Digital Marketing Strategy Guide 2025 to align AI work to business goals, invest in first‑party data and privacy‑safe measurement, and balance automation with brand voice and creative oversight.

Finally, showcase an AI‑augmented portfolio that proves value (efficiency metrics, improved CTRs or richer customer segments), and emphasise power skills ADMA highlights - curiosity, simplicity and critical thinking - because thoughtful humans remain the final decision makers.

“soft skills are becoming the ultimate differentiator in today's job market, with employers even willing to pay more for candidates who excel in them.” - Shay Peters

Hiring and talent strategies in Australia should be pragmatic and people‑centred: start by auditing roles to spot repeatable tasks ripe for automation, then redeploy or reskill staff rather than reflexively hiring - the Conversation notes firms have already cut roles (for example, the Commonwealth Bank announced 45 call‑centre job cuts after introducing an AI chatbot), and models show around 32% of tasks could be done by AI over time, so transitions are inevitable but gradual.

Use short‑term contracting and specialist freelancers to plug immediate AI skill gaps while building in‑house capability, because HiringLab finds roughly 21% of jobs are highly exposed to GenAI and employers will need different talent mixes as tasks shift.

Be cautious when automating recruitment: almost two‑thirds of Australian organisations now use AI in hiring, but SBS warns of accessibility and discrimination risks with robo‑interviews - so keep humans in the loop, run pilots, document decisions and insist on transparency from vendors.

In practice, combine measured outsourcing for technical builds, freelance AI‑savvy creatives for campaign work and focused reskilling programs so organisations capture productivity gains without leaving candidates or existing staff behind; treat hiring as workforce transformation, not a one‑off cost cut.

“We actually got caught on surprise, when towards the end of last year, we sent about nine sisters to an interview and they didn't make it, they didn't pass the interview. We found out that they're actually not being interviewed face to face, but actually being interviewed by videos slash AI interviews. I think they just fail because they don't know what to do.” - Ifrin Fittock, Sisterworks (SBS News)

Australia's policy landscape is shaping a pragmatic path to 2030: the Productivity Commission's $116 billion productivity upside frames why government wants growth from AI, while targeted moves - the Australian National AI Capability Plan to build local strengths and the Australian Policy for Responsible Use of AI in Government - are creating guardrails that help businesses scale safely and win regional opportunities in agriculture, mining, manufacturing and real‑estate automation; see the Productivity Commission context in ABC reporting on the Productivity Commission estimate, the Australian National AI Capability Plan and the Australian Policy for Responsible Use of AI in Government.

The practical upshot for marketers and employers: regulation plus capability investment means new local markets (data centres, orchestration platforms and compliance services), government procurement pathways and funding for reskilling - but also real costs for creative workers, highlighted by a voice actor who estimates bookings fell ~30% after his voice was cloned, a sharp reminder that legal, privacy and industrial responses will determine who wins from AI's gains.

“a redundancy which is very stressful from a mental health point of view,” - Colin Cassidy

Real-world Australian examples show how AI can simultaneously turbocharge productivity and unsettle workforces: Commonwealth Bank's AI push - from a scaled “AI Factory” and Microsoft 365 Copilot rollout to H2O.ai partnerships - cut fraud and scam losses and sped model prototyping from weeks to days while automating routine verification tasks that reportedly halved loan‑check time, yet the bank's rollout also sparked controversy when an AI chatbot led to 45 call‑centre roles being flagged for removal (with commitments to retrain and redeploy staff).

These mixed outcomes underline a clear lesson for Australian marketers and employers: AI delivers measurable wins (faster decisions, personalised offers and time saved) but success depends on skilling, governance and human oversight - see CommBank's Copilot/AI skilling story, H2O.ai's case notes on reduced scam losses and practical reporting on the job impacts for context.

“With Microsoft 365 Copilot, early adopters reported saving 16% of their time by reducing repetitive tasks, allowing them to focus on more meaningful work.” - Dan Jermyn, Chief Decision Scientist, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Stay practical: Australian marketers should treat AI as a tool to be managed, not a fate to be feared - audit repeatable tasks, consolidate your martech stack to avoid the “efficiency trap,” and prioritise hands‑on AI literacy so human judgement stays central.

The numbers are a clear road‑map: marketing leads adoption (91% using AI, 87% say it's important), but 77% report talent shortages and 59% expect new skills in 3–5 years, so invest where it counts - data fluency, prompt design and creative strategy - and pair that with governance and wellbeing measures so teams don't burn out while experimenting (only ~14% of organisations have scaled AI broadly).

Practical next steps include running a small pilot, measuring time saved and KPI lifts, documenting prompts and quality checks, and embedding responsible practices that the National AI Centre highlights as essential for SME adoption.

If structured upskilling is needed, consider a focused, workplace course such as the AI Essentials for Work bootcamp syllabus - practical AI skills for any workplace and keep the national evidence base close at hand via the BizCover Australian Small Business AI Report 2025 - how marketing businesses are adapting to AI - the competitive edge will go to marketers who can orchestrate AI outputs, protect brand voice and turn faster data into smarter decisions.

“There's no going back for the marketing sector.” - Sharon Kenny