Artificial Intelligence is poised to transform all facets of marketing. In this study, we examine the link between firms’ focus on AI in their 10-K reports and their gross and net operating efficiency. 10-K reports are a salient source of insight into an array of issues in accounting and finance research, yet remain relatively overlooked in marketing. Drawing upon economic and marketing theory, we develop a guiding framework to show how firms’ AI focus could be related to gross and net operating efficiency. We then use a system of simultaneous equations to empirically test the relationship between AI focus and operating efficiency. Our findings confirm that US-listed firms are in a state of impending transformation with regards to AI. We show how AI focus is associated with improvements in net profitability, net operating efficiency and return on marketing-related investment while reducing adspend and creating jobs.