News
The Gist
- Consolidation is real. In 2024, over 1,200 martech tools disappeared — mostly pre-AI solutions unable to keep pace with market expectations.
- AI-native tools dominate. 77% of new tools were AI-native, creating a new wave of instant software, agents and citizen-built solutions.
- Global innovation is surging. While the U.S. leads in quantity, Europe and India are earning top ratings for quality and specialization.
- User sentiment is rising. Smaller vendors and emerging markets are seeing the highest satisfaction scores, with categories like product management leading in love.
Meet martech, a monster 100 times bigger than it was 14 years ago.
The marketing technology landscape grew to 15,384 solutions, according to the team that analyzes martech trends and solutions.
The martech supergraphic — likely the most used slide in any marketing presentation ever — debuted today for 2025 thanks to the efforts of chiefmartec’s Scott Brinker and MartechTribe’s Frans Riemersma. Brinker was first dubbed by yours truly in 2015 as the Godfather of Martech; yes, I first dubbed Scott the Godfather, not AdAge, as reported several times including in today’s research report :)
My self-indulgence aside, Brinker delivered the first martech supergraphic in 2011. Riemersma, a CMSWire Contributor, joined the team later. “We won’t keep you in suspense. It grew. Again. It’s now up to 15,384 solutions,” Brinker and Riemersma reported in today's report. “But inside that numbing number are very interesting dynamics of real consolidation, a new generation of AI-natives, a global phenomenon and a rising tide of user sentiment.”
Table of Contents
- Surprise, Surprise? AI Has Impact on Martech
- Key Dynamics Shaping the 2025 Martech Landscape
- 1. Real Consolidation for Martech
- 2. A New Generation of AI-Natives
- 3. A Global Phenomenon: Martech Has Growing International Appeal
- 4. A Rising Tide of User Sentiment
- Blast from the Past: CMSWire's Martech Supergraphic Coverage Through the Years
Surprise, Surprise? AI Has Impact on Martech
The hot trends this year? Surprise. Surprise.
- No. 1 Surprise, Not Really: Artificial intelligence makes impact on martech landscape. After last year's AI-fueled explosion of new martech products, there was only an 8.6% churn from last year's landscape to this one. And most of the products that churned out weren't from that massive new cohort, but rather products from the previous decade, 2010-2020, Brinker told CMSWire ahead of Martech Day’s webinar series launched Tuesday, May 6. And 64% of the ones that churned were launched before ChatGPT appeared.
- Surprise No. 2, Really: The area with the most growth: SEO. Yes, search engine optimization, dead on ChatGPT’s arrival by many accounts. Not so. Percentage wise, the biggest growth area for marketing technology was SEO, that grew 24%, from 2023-2025. “Surprising given the ‘search is dead’ talk,” Brinker told CMSWire. “But not really surprising, since we put AI Optimization products in this category, as people work on optimizing for the answer engines of AI assistants.” Aha, so AI is disrupting here. Believe us, we get that. “AI is changing marketing and martech, and it is changing it fast,” Brinker and Riemersma noted in their research.
Here's the big gotcha: 77% of the new marketing technology solutions added were AI-native. Three out of four? That's impact.
Related Article: Predict, React, Adapt: Martech Capabilities to Watch in 2025
Key Dynamics Shaping the 2025 Martech Landscape
So what else did see in the martech landscape this year? Brinker and Riemersma did some work with a capital W on this one: the largest yet they produced together: 132 pages.
So let's talk big takeaways, as the martech researchers see them. There are a litany of trends, but let's focus on these four from the 2025 marketing technology landscape.
1. Real Consolidation for Martech
A wave of martech consolidation is finally underway. While AI-native tools are failing in some cases, the majority of product exits in 2024 came from older tools built before the ChatGPT era.
Specifically, 1,211 products were removed from the landscape, and 64% of those were pre-GenAI tools. This shows that the AI revolution is not only spawning new tools but pushing legacy ones out. The Customer Data Platform (CDP) category (e.g., ActionIQ, Lytics, mParticle) was a bellwether of this shift, with mixed outcomes ranging from successful acquisition to quiet shutdown.
Real Consolidation: The Martech Shakeout
Legacy tech is leaving the stage. In 2024, over 1,200 martech products vanished — and most weren’t built for the AI era.
| Type of Tool Removed | Count | % of Total Exits | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-GenAI (legacy) | 774 | 64% | Old tools lacked AI agility and scale |
| Post-GenAI (AI-native) | 437 | 36% | Early AI startups failed to gain traction |
| Total Removed | 1,211 | 100% | Consolidation era is here |
2. A New Generation of AI-Natives
AI-native startups now dominate new entrants, comprising 77% of all new martech products in 2024. These tools aren't just enhancements—they’re transforming how martech is developed, distributed and used. The rise of “instant software” via AI agents and citizen development is creating a hypertail of custom, often temporary software solutions. Tools like Jasper and ChatGPT are extending martech's reach well beyond technical users, fueling the fastest innovation pace ever observed in the landscape’s history.
AI-Natives Ruling the Day
AI is no longer an add-on — it’s the architecture. Most new martech tools in 2024 were born AI-first.
| Entrant Type (2024) | Share of New Tools | What's Driving It? |
|---|---|---|
| AI-native | 77% | Instant software, agent-based interfaces, GenAI-fueled creation |
| Non-AI | 23% | Traditional SaaS or infrastructure extensions |
3. A Global Phenomenon: Martech Has Growing International Appeal
Martech innovation is increasingly global. While 46% of the 15,384 solutions mapped are U.S.-based, 26% now come from the EU and 28% from other regions. Germany, India, and the Netherlands are prominent players, and Iceland made a surprising top-10 appearance in product ratings.
A Global Phenomenon: Martech’s Borderless Boom
The U.S. still leads in vendor count — but Europe and beyond are rising fast in quality, diversity, and innovation.
| Region | Share of Martech Solutions | Notable Strength |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 46% | Volume and ecosystem dominance |
| European Union | 26% | Strong local specialization (e.g. CDP, consent tech) |
| Rest of World | 28% | Emerging stars in India, Iceland and Latin America |
4. A Rising Tide of User Sentiment
User satisfaction with martech tools is on the rise. The average product rating increased from 4.36 in 2023 to 4.42 in 2025 on G2’s scale. Smaller vendors—especially those with 11–50 employees—and India-based companies scored the highest. Ratings are surging particularly in categories like product management, social advertising and content experience. Despite tech stack complexity, user confidence in martech capabilities appears to be growing steadily.
Blast from the Past: CMSWire's Martech Supergraphic Coverage Through the Years
A chronological look at how the marketing technology landscape has evolved — and how CMSWire documented each major leap along the way through some of the notable years.
2017: Martech Hits 5,000 — and the Ecosystem Starts to Stack
In 2017, the martech landscape featured 5,381 solutions, a 39% increase from the year before. This growth reflected a rise in startups building on top of established platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot, creating a more interconnected and modular ecosystem. Nearly half of the companies were investor-backed, while the rest represented a mix of bootstrapped and private ventures.
2018: New Categories Emerge — Bots & Compliance
By 2018, the landscape expanded to 6,829 tools, including new categories like “Bots & Live Chat” and “Compliance & Privacy.” These additions reflected a growing emphasis on real-time engagement and GDPR-era concerns around data protection.
2020: COVID-19 Accelerates Martech Adoption
As the pandemic unfolded, the martech ecosystem reached around 8,000 solutions. Marketers turned to nimble, cloud-based tools to help pivot strategies and support digital-first customer experiences. Smaller vendors gained traction as organizations sought fast, budget-friendly tech options.
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2022: Approaching 10,000 Solutions — Churn and Growth
In 2022, the martech count climbed to 9,932 — up 24% from 2020 — with churn also on the rise. Nearly 1,000 solutions disappeared, largely due to consolidation and shutdowns. Marketing management apps led growth, signaling demand for tools that improve operational efficiency.
2024: Generative AI Fuels Explosive Growth
The landscape ballooned to 14,106 solutions in 2024 — a 27.8% year-over-year jump. GenAI capabilities led the way, especially in content and experience tech. Even amid macroeconomic strain, martech thrived by shifting toward specialized, AI-enhanced solutions over centralized platforms.
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