The bottleneck in content operations is not content creation. The latest research MarTech Intelligence Report on DAM platforms found that how As resource volume, customization demands and channel complexity continue to increase, the bottleneck is likely in the systems needed to manage, adapt and deliver content at scale.
Let’s start with the volume of content, because it is the basis of everything else. According to Salesforce’s “State of Marketing Report, 10th Edition,” 78% of marketers say they need more personalized content than they can currently produce, and 65% struggle to produce timely, personalized content for all of their segments.
These numbers reflect a real bottleneck in production, but they also indicate where a well-configured DAM platform pays for itself. A single campaign that once required a handful of resource variations now routinely requires dozens or hundreds of them. Organizations that manage this volume well have the right infrastructure in place. Those who aren’t yet are the ones feeling the pinch.
Video is accelerating this change. One of the most surprising data points I came across comes from MediaValet’s 2026 DAM Trends report: video adoption within DAM platforms went from 68% to 83% in just one year.
This is a rapid movement and suppliers have kept pace. Platforms are now built with video-specific features, such as automated transcription, multilingual subtitles, copyright detection and reuse recommendation engines that surface existing footage before teams commission a new production, with direct implications on both budget and speed to market.
Artificial intelligence is doing much of the heavy lifting
From an operational perspective, AI is removing much of the friction from DAM workflows. Data from Bynder’s “State of DAM 2026” shows that 62% of organizations have already moved beyond early-stage AI adoption in their DAM, and platforms that are scaling it effectively are seeing real returns.
Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your branding introduces himself.
The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need.
Start your free trial
Start with
The most significant change is the increasing use of agent artificial intelligence. It goes beyond automatic tagging and intelligent cropping to handle more complex, multi-step work, detecting off-brand content at scale, generating hyper-personalized asset variations, managing the approval path, and resolving rights conflicts.
These systems also help ensure images and videos comply with emerging SEO and GEO standards, helping brands get found by their customers. I explored this in more depth in the podcast associated with the report, and it’s worth a listen if you want to understand what’s actually possible right now, not just what’s coming.
That said, AI does not mean manual intervention. Nine in 10 respondents to a Bynder/Censuswide survey said human oversight is essential to safeguarding brand identity when AI-generated content is involved. The good news is that major platforms are implementing such oversight, with support for content credentials, AI generation reporting, and audit trail capabilities that give teams visibility without slowing everything down.
A growing market means more good options
According to IMARC Group, the DAM market is expected to grow from $7.73 billion in 2025 to $31.99 billion by 2034 with a compound annual growth rate of 15.26%. This growth is bringing investment, competition and capacity expansion across the board, which is good news for buyers.
However, it’s worth understanding the landscape before you start evaluating. Pure-play DAM providers, broader marketing suites with integrated DAM capabilities, and adjacent platforms entering the space each have distinct strengths. And with organizations using an average of 2.5 DAM platforms in parallel, according to Gartner’s “2025 Magic Quadrant for DAM Platforms,” there is a real opportunity for consolidation if you ask the right questions.
Where to start
The report is designed to make the evaluation process simple. If you’re trying to understand what this all means for your specific situation, the custom chatbot created for this report is a good first stop: you can ask questions about your use case and get research-based answers.
The full PDF and all accompanying interactive resources are available here. Download the report, check out the podcast for insights into AI and the vendor landscape, and use the chatbot to get personalized guidance on what to look for in your next DAM assessment.
