Optimizely is a software company that provides tools to help businesses create, manage and improve digital experience. The firm has a presence in Canada through customers and users, such as Thomson Reuters (Canada) and the Business Development Bank of Canada). The firm has highlighted how AI, when used correctly, can make marketing faster. At the same time, the firm shows how easy it is to be out of step with consumers.
According to Optimizely’s new report, The Passion-Pressure Paradox, 61% of marketers say AI saves them time, but only 36% say it creates more space for strategy. Meanwhile, 41.8% say their role is only “50/50 creative on a good day,” highlighting growing concerns around operational overload and creative burnout.
To gain an insight into these trends Digital Journal spoke with Tara Corey, SVP of Marketing at Optimizely.
Digital Journal: Optimizely’s report introduces the idea of a “passion–pressure paradox.” What does that mean, and why is it resonating with marketers right now?
Tara Corey: The “passion–pressure paradox” is the disconnect between what people envisioned when they got into marketing and what the job actually has become day-to-day. Marketers are still deeply motivated by the craft, across creativity, problem-solving, and seeing real-world impact, but the environment around that work has changed significantly. In our research, 50% of marketers still cite seeing the impacts of their work as a top driver of enjoyment, and 71% say “meaning” in the work is what keeps them going. That tells us the core appeal of marketing is still very much intact.
What’s changed is everything surrounding that work. Expanded mandates, leaner teams, more tools, and more cross-functional coordination have created a layer of pressure that didn’t exist in the same way before. At the same time, the rapid rise of AI has added both opportunity and complexity – and while it’s helping teams move faster, it’s also raising expectations around output and introducing new workflows that marketers need to manage. The result is that marketers are spending more time orchestrating systems and processes than shaping creative ideas and experiences. So the passion hasn’t disappeared, it’s just harder to access consistently. That tension between strong intrinsic motivation and a more complex, AI-influenced work environment is what’s really defining the modern marketing experience.
DJ: In light of discussions around AI making marketers more efficient. Based on your research, is it actually improving the day-to-day experience of marketing teams?
Corey: AI is absolutely improving efficiency, and that’s real. 61% of marketers said AI is saving them time and 55% said it makes certain tasks easier. We’re seeing clear gains when it comes to tasks like drafting, research, summarization, and execution speed.
But efficiency doesn’t automatically translate into a better day-to-day experience. Only 36% of marketers said that time is actually being reinvested into more strategic work. In many cases, the time AI creates is quickly absorbed into more output, more requests or added complexity across tools and workflows. So instead of creating space, it can end up accelerating the same pressures that already exist.
That’s why this moment is less about the technology alone and more about how it’s applied. If AI is layered onto already fragmented systems, it just speeds up that friction. But if it’s used intentionally to reduce operational drag and simplify workflows, it has the potential to give marketers back the time they’re trying to reclaim and give them the focus needed for more meaningful, strategic work (that they actually enjoy).
DJ: The data shows many marketers feel their roles are less creative than expected. What’s driving that shift?
Corey: What we’re seeing is that creativity hasn’t become less important, it’s just competing with a much larger operational load than it used to. According to our data, 41.8% of marketers say their role is only “50/50 creative on a good day,” and nearly 38% say their work is primarily coordination rather than creative or strategic output. That’s a meaningful shift in how the role is actually experienced. Today’s marketers are responsible not just for messaging and campaigns, but also for analytics, tooling, cross-functional alignment, experimentation, and reporting. In many cases, especially in lean teams, those responsibilities sit with the same individual.
The result is fragmentation. Creative work requires depth, focus, and time to think, but when your day is broken up by meetings, approvals, status updates, and constant context switching, that kind of thinking becomes harder to sustain. So it’s not that marketers are any less creative, it’s that the system around them isn’t designed to protect or prioritize that creativity.
DJ: It sounds like the issue isn’t a lack of passion for marketing, but something structural. What’s getting in the way of marketers doing the kind of work they actually enjoy and were hired to do?
Corey: Exactly…It all comes down to the structure and culture companies build around their teams. The marketers we surveyed are experienced, engaged, and still very committed to their work. But they’re operating in environments where complexity has scaled faster than the systems designed to support it.
That’s where “operational drag” comes in. A significant portion of the workweek is consumed by coordination, approvals, reporting, internal alignment, and managing across multiple tools and stakeholders. None of those tasks are inherently unnecessary, but they’ve become overrepresented relative to the work that actually drives impact.
At the same time, there’s a growing issue with fragmentation. Work is constantly shifting between platforms, priorities, and stakeholders, which creates a level of cognitive load that makes it difficult to sustain deep, strategic thinking. So instead of burnout from meaningful challenges, marketers are experiencing fatigue from constant context switching, and that’s what ultimately pulls them away from the work they find most fulfilling.
DJ: What are marketers saying would actually help them be more effective in their roles and how can leadership fill that gap?
Corey: What’s interesting is that marketers are very clear about what would help, and it’s not more tools or surface-level fixes. In our research, 39% said more strategic time would make them more effective, 34% pointed to fewer meetings, and 30% said clearer priorities would have the biggest impact. There’s also a consistent call for better alignment across teams and more operational support to handle coordination-heavy work.
What that points to is a need to rethink how marketing work is structured. This isn’t just about productivity, it’s about protecting the conditions required for high-quality work. That means being more intentional about how time is allocated, reducing unnecessary complexity, and ensuring that priorities are clearly defined and aligned across the organization. AI is putting so much pressure on doing more with less. Marketers do not have the proper time and mental space to think, which is defaulting to automating what they are already doing and not actually reimaging the process or experience for what is actually now possible with AI The organizations that get this right will see the true unlock in better thinking, bolder creativity, and more meaningful impact, and that’s where the real growth happens.