Artificial intelligence (AI) has been digital advertising’s undisputed lightning rod for 2023. You need only look at this year’s Cannes Festival of Creativity, which was dominated by discussion of the technology, to see the impact that AI has had on our industry in just the last twelve months; ironic considering how long the technology has in fact been around.

With commercial and ethical ramifications, businesses are scrambling to align themselves with the new reality ushered in by this technology, which ostensibly threatens human input in the creative process. Indeed, as the recent strikes in Hollywood have highlighted, retaining control over content originality is hot on the agenda across the creative industry.

If you are to believe some of the headlines out there, AI has taken the agency world by storm too. However, the uptake of AI here has not been so smooth.

Historically, many media, creative and digital agencies have opted against growing their in-house data science capabilities. Instead, they have spent the past decade focusing on the user data landscape. As a result, these businesses have been slow, or unable, to adapt to the rapid change that AI has ushered in. Many are now faced with an uphill battle of finding ways to successfully and quickly integrate the technology.

Staring at the prospect of losing ground to younger, more nimble industry players, the dilemma for agencies is: adopt AI or be swept away by its tide.

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What can agencies do now?

Agencies can either invest in their personnel and fast-tracking their data science capabilities to leverage AI technologies. Or they must acknowledge the need to partner with parties who have already been filling this gap. There are also some crucial steps that cannot be avoided, including a need to educate the business from top to bottom on the available solutions and ensuring that internal data structures are ready to integrate AI.

Whichever route agencies choose, the outcome needs to be the same – embracing AI to the hilt.

Boost ad effectiveness

Just like any other branch of technology or computer science, AI is a blanket term for a plethora of subfields. To some degree, agencies have struggled to differentiate between these techniques which, within digital marketing, can range from machine learned real-time bidding to natural language processing-led SEO optimization.

Alongside these use cases of AI, its real value for agencies is undeniably in the world of creative. In particular, optimizing the design aspects of their digital advertising. Different types of sophisticated AI-based techniques – including computer vision, neutral networks, and natural language processing – are revolutionizing how creativity is understood. When used in unison with human-led efforts, they can inform creativity and ensure that only the best performing ad creative is served, while delivering real insights into why that creative performed well. This creative intelligence can then be utilized to inform future campaigns.

The industry has long known that creativity was the main driver of business outcomes. The application of AI to inform creative can help this effectiveness reach its maximum potential. Crucial at a time when the need to be more efficient and make budgets stretch further has never been greater. But what should agencies be doing to make this and any other application of AI successful within their business?

Preparing for the future

Of course, many agencies will opt for the in-house path – building out their own solutions, and investing in the talent that will set them up for the future. However, it’s worth considering the time and money this will take, and the risk of being left behind while others race ahead.

Unlike other watershed moments that have swept advertising, whether it be the original web or the advent of social media, the pace of development in AI is unprecedented. Keeping on top of this rate of innovation really requires the input of specialists.

Meanwhile, agencies which seek out AI tech partners risk not having the control they desire and not having the unique IP that differentiates them. Some agencies therefore may opt for a blend of the two approaches, with the majority of investment likely directed at internal resources.

Nevertheless, whichever option is chosen, agencies must first find ways to evangelize the use of AI-based solutions across the business.

Often an evolution of this kind would come from the top-down. However, agencies may find it’s more beneficial to take the opposite approach.

As digital natives, more junior members of the team will have a better basis for understanding AI. Especially the generation coming through education now, who, with a range of AI tools at their fingertips, will understand its applications far more intuitively than their older colleagues. So, agencies can benefit from empowering them to test applications of the technology and integrate it into their day-to-day work. Their insights should be used to increase understanding and usage up through the agency. Instilling this knowledge across the business will help to ensure that brands are met across all touchpoints with the AI-acumen they are increasingly coming to expect of agency partners.

Driving efficiencies

Getting the business aligned on AI is just one key step. However, AI can only be at its most effective if the intelligence and knowledge across the agency is backed by quality data.

Agencies should run internal audits to ensure their data structures and governance are in a position to support AI integration. Does the business have its data aligned? Is the data storage up-to-date? Is the right governance in place?

Only once those questions are answered, and the culture is in place, will agencies be able to harness the full benefits of using AI within their businesses. Others may have gotten into AI earlier, but there’s still time for agencies to get their houses in order.

The ultimate aim of any agency should be to achieve maximum efficiency, and those embracing AI across their business are – and will be – the most efficient. Agencies that can produce great creative in a day are going to keep more clients happy than those taking a week to produce that same creative.

It’s time for agencies to prepare for the future, as the future is already happening right now.

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