APM Autonomy Index Research
Measuring the transition from marketing automation to governed autonomy
The APM Autonomy Index Research (AIR) is an industry research programme initiated by So What Labs to understand how organisations are progressing from automated marketing execution towards greater decision autonomy.
Rather than simply asking whether organisations are using AI, AIR explores a more important question:
How much marketing decision-making are organisations prepared to delegate to intelligent systems – and under what conditions?
We are currently speaking with senior marketers, agency leaders and marketing technology practitioners for the first phase of the research.
- Automation
- Intelligence
- Agents
- Governed autonomy
Why AIR exists
Marketing technology is moving rapidly from automation towards systems capable of analysing, recommending and increasingly acting.
However, greater capability does not automatically create meaningful autonomy.
A system may be able to take an action without having sufficient context, authority or understanding to determine whether that action is appropriate.
AIR is designed to examine how organisations are navigating this transition in practice, including the relationship between:
- Capability
- Trust
- Context
- Decision authority
- Human oversight
- Business outcomes
The research will contribute towards a broader evidence base for understanding the emergence of Autonomous Performance Marketing.
Six research areas
AIR currently examines how organisations are approaching six areas of marketing autonomy.
- 01
Business outcomes
How AI-driven marketing decisions are connected to commercial objectives.
- 02
Connected context
What data and business signals systems have access to before making decisions.
- 03
Decision intelligence
How systems move from identifying a change to determining an appropriate response.
- 04
Cross-channel orchestration
How decisions are coordinated across advertising, analytics, CRM, ecommerce and other systems.
- 05
Decision authority and governance
Which decisions systems may make independently and where human intervention remains necessary.
- 06
Learning and adaptation
Whether the outcomes of previous decisions influence subsequent system behaviour.
Research approach
The first phase of AIR is qualitative and exploratory.
It consists of structured 25–30 minute interviews with senior practitioners across brands, agencies, marketing technology organisations and related parts of the digital marketing ecosystem, organised around the six research areas above.
Phase 1 aims to complete 50 interviews. Participants are recruited by invitation, primarily through the research lead’s professional network, and practitioners can also register their interest on this page. Because recruitment draws on one network, Phase 1 findings are exploratory and are not intended to be representative of the industry as a whole.
The initial qualitative phase is intended to refine these research constructs, identify emerging patterns and inform the development of the first AIR measurement framework.
The methodology and eventual Index are therefore under development rather than predetermined.
Related reading: The Autonomy Gap, a So What Labs white paper on why marketing automated execution without automating judgement.
Alam Shukla
Founder & CEO, So What Labs · LinkedIn
Alam has more than 15 years’ experience in research and insight roles within commercial organisations, with experience spanning qualitative research, customer and market insight, and ethnographic methods. He also holds a qualification in ethnography.
His current work focuses on Autonomous Performance Marketing, AI-enabled marketing decision systems and the governance of increasingly autonomous marketing technologies.
Alam is a member of IAB UK and has recently been invited to contribute to its work around agentic AI and autonomy, including an industry manifesto focused on responsible adoption.
Independence and collaboration
AIR is an industry research programme initiated by So What Labs. While some of the questions behind the research have emerged from So What Labs’ work developing Autonomous Performance Marketing technology, AIR is intended to investigate the subject more broadly rather than validate a particular product or technology approach.
Academic collaboration is being sought to challenge and strengthen the research framework, methodology and interpretation of findings.
Research principles and participant safeguards
- Participation in AIR is voluntary.
- Recording is optional. Interviews can take place without one, and you will be asked before any recording starts.
- Individual interview responses will be treated as confidential and findings will normally be reported in aggregate. Individuals or organisations will only be identified where explicit permission has been provided.
- Interview notes, any recordings and transcripts, and participants’ contact details are kept for 12 months from the date of the interview and then deleted. Published findings identify no one and are not affected.
- You can withdraw at any time by emailing alam@sowhatlabs.com, and your interview data will be deleted. Findings that have already been published in aggregate cannot be withdrawn.
- Participation in the research is not conditional on becoming a customer of So What Labs and is not intended as a commercial sales process.
- AIR is committed to publishing its findings in full and unaltered, whatever the results show, including findings that do not favour autonomous marketing or So What Labs’ own approach.
- As the research develops, AIR will seek external academic and industry input to challenge assumptions, improve the methodology and reduce the risk of conclusions being shaped by the commercial interests of its initiator.
Participate in the research
We are currently conducting 25–30 minute structured interviews with practitioners across brands, agencies and marketing technology organisations.
Participation is intended to help build a practical understanding of how marketing autonomy is developing across the industry.
There is no sales pitch associated with participation.
Questions about the research: alam@sowhatlabs.com
Phase 1 – Practitioner research
AIR is currently recruiting participants for its initial qualitative research phase.
Phase 1 findings will be published as the first AIR Research Notes.
Findings from these interviews will be used to refine the research framework before a broader quantitative benchmark and scoring methodology are developed.
Planned research outputs include:
- AIR Research Notes
- Short publications examining emerging themes and findings.
- APM Autonomy Index
- A framework for assessing how organisations are progressing from automation towards governed decision autonomy.
- State of Autonomous Performance Marketing
- A broader industry report examining the development, adoption and governance of autonomous decision-making within performance marketing.