What did Emplifi's 2027 social media report find?
Emplifi surveyed 405 marketers and found that 87% say AI has made their team more productive, but only 48% can confidently prove social media ROI to leadership. Only 38% call the productivity gain significant. Teams are producing more with AI without being able to show that any of it brings in money.
The report, The State of Social Media Marketing 2027, came out on October 29, 2026. Emplifi and the research firm Alchemer surveyed marketing managers, directors and executives in the US, UK, Australia and New Zealand in September. Everyone in the sample works at a company with 11 or more employees and helps decide which marketing tech gets bought. The same numbers appear in the PR Newswire release and in coverage from Vision Monday and MarTech Cube.
I've been running ads since 2013, and this split looks familiar. Most teams can tell you how many posts went out last month. Far fewer can tell you how many customers those posts brought in.
Why can't most marketing teams prove ROI?
They measure attention instead of sales. Reach and impressions were the KPI most often ranked in marketers' top three (58%), followed by engagement rate. Fewer than one in three put social-attributed revenue in their top three, and attribution was the reporting problem respondents named most often.
Reporting eats time too. 62% of marketers spend four or more hours a week on reporting and analytics, and 69% say AI has saved their team at least three hours a week on it. So AI makes the reports faster, and the reports still track reach and likes.
A business owner can't deposit impressions. If your agency's monthly report opens with reach, ask which line in it shows booked jobs.
Where are marketers using AI, and where aren't they?
Mostly for making content. 72% use AI for captions and copywriting, 70% for ideation, 64% for images and 64% for reporting. 60% don't use it yet for community management, which is answering the people who comment, message and ask questions.
| Task | Marketers using AI for it |
|---|---|
| Captions and copywriting | 72% |
| Ideation | 70% |
| Image generation | 64% |
| Reporting and analytics | 64% |
| Community management (replying to people) | About 40% |
For a local business that order is backwards. More content gets you more posts. When someone comments "how much for a roof inspection?" or messages at 9 p.m. asking about Saturday openings, that is a lead, and it's the part of social media closest to the cash register. Most teams still leave it to whoever checks the inbox when they get a minute.
The report also found that 86% of teams saw content and campaign volume go up last year, and the share of marketers who feel burned out very often rose from 17% to 24%. They're producing more and feeling worse.
What should a business owner who runs ads do with this?
Put AI on the conversations that turn into revenue, and measure booked appointments and sales by source. Content tools save your team time. A fast, accurate reply to a lead is what pays, and it's the job 60% of marketers haven't given to AI yet.
- Pick one money number. Booked appointments or closed sales per lead source, every week. If you're spending on ads, run the numbers through the ROAS calculator so you see return instead of reach.
- Time your replies. Check how long a Facebook comment, a DM or a form fill waits for an answer today. We covered why that delay costs you in our speed to lead guide.
- Put AI on the inbox before the content calendar. An agent that answers questions and books the appointment does more for revenue than a fourth caption tool.
- Tie every conversation to a record. When the lead, the chat and the sale live in one CRM, attribution becomes a report you run instead of a guess.
Where KenjiAI fits. KenjiAI puts your texts, Facebook and Instagram messages, email and calls in one inbox, then lets Conversation AI and Voice AI agents answer, qualify and book around the clock. Every lead lands in the CRM with its source attached, so you can see which ads and posts brought in paying customers. We've hit 5x ROAS on campaigns we run, and fast follow-up is a big part of how.
How much should you trust this survey?
Treat it as a direction rather than a precise measurement. Emplifi sells social media and customer care software, the sample is 405 marketers at companies with 11 or more staff, and Emplifi itself says comparisons with last year's survey (564 respondents) are only directional because the samples differ.
The findings still match what we see in ad accounts. More than half of respondents said they use AI tools their company hasn't approved at least some of the time, up from 42% last year, so a lot of AI use isn't tracked at all. Only 37% have a fully defined AI policy for marketing. The full report is free to download if you want the details.
Your next step: take last month's report from your marketing team or agency and circle every number that is a sale, a booked call or revenue. If there's nothing to circle, start there.
FAQ
What percentage of marketers say AI improved productivity in 2026?
In Emplifi's State of Social Media Marketing 2027 survey of 405 marketers, released October 29, 2026, 87% said AI has improved their team's productivity. Only 38% described the increase as significant.
How many marketers can prove social media ROI?
48% of marketers in the Emplifi survey said their team can confidently demonstrate social media ROI to leadership with clear attribution and data. Fewer than one in three rank social-attributed revenue among their top three KPIs.
What do marketers use AI for most?
Captions and copywriting lead at 72%, followed by ideation at 70%, and image generation and reporting at 64% each. 60% of marketers are not yet using AI for community management, which means replying to comments and messages.
How can a small business prove its marketing ROI?
Track booked appointments and sales by lead source every week instead of reach or engagement. Keeping every lead, conversation and sale in one CRM makes that report easy to run.
Originally published on kenjiai.com. Published by the Media Traffics | KenjiAI team.
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