Is the marketing business in a state of cognitive dissonance over AI?

These are existential questions for the marketing world, but whether to be optimistic or pessimistic in response to them is, of course, up to you.

Some agencies, for example, may be hoping to have their cake and eat it too: reduced staffing costs, reliable revenues from platform- or product-ized work, increased profits. As one nameless holdco chief executive interviewed by Forrester said, “By 2028, we’ll double profits and halve the people.”

Others are more concerned that they or their colleagues will be among that 15% or that the industry loses something as it hurries to pivot from its tried-and-true bona fides. Some may be caught in the middle, in a state of cognitive dissonance fuelled by both LinkedIn AI triumphalism and trepidation from findings like Forrester’s. Here, we hear from leading marketers where they sit on that spectrum.

Toby Strangewood, chief strategy officer, Miroma Founders Network: “There are businesses of all sizes hiding behind ‘AI’ as the excuse for redundancies and scale-backs, rather than being open about economic challenges and business health. That aside, I crudely cluster how AI is affecting our industry into things that improve operational efficiencies and those that bolster effectiveness through output excellence. If your job is largely laborious admin tasks, then yes, you should fear AI making an ‘efficiency’ of you. Even when quantum computing is on a mass scale there will still need to be some form of economic flow or a new take on Adam Smith’s invisible AI hand. If there’s no jobs or flow of wealth, then having a trillion-dollar AI business that has conquered the world is worthless. We have to find a role for humans and it starts by upskilling and adapting our workflows to ensure people remain at the top of the tech triangle.”

Josh Clarricoats, co-founder, Insiders: “I teeter on the edge of optimism and despair daily. For us as a small agency, we can reap the rewards as bigger brands look for leaner approaches. But I just think, jeez, what is the world coming to? This endless chase for productivity is killing what made our industry special. Layoffs are mostly affecting bigger agencies, where, OK, perhaps, there are some inefficiencies. But each job loss is a person with a family, a mortgage. And with 1.7 million of us employed in the ad sector, a 15% job loss will be 225k out of work, in advertising alone. That’s recession territory, which changes the game again. Maybe the AI reaper will come for us all at some point. But until then, we’ll keep making good work that helps grow clients’ businesses. If we are at least 1% better than the AI sausage-making machine, then that’s the difference every brand should be striving for.”

Jef Loeb, creative director/writer/director: “Here’s the hard part: AI may be digital, but the way it plays out will be any damn thing but binary. And not just because every CFO’s wet-dream-plus-point (frictionless, zero hard cost production) comes with a matching industry-eviscerating-minus (even more debilitating message overload for starts). For a realistic shot at a forecast, we need to think about what happens after the hype machine clicks past the spin cycle, a probable interim dotcom-like crash, and shiny machine magic turns into ad business as usual. Assuming we’re not facing an extinction event, and that agencies don’t surrender to their doomed-to-fail lust to become technology players, opportunity will come from the same place it always has: creative minds equipped with new creative tools. But it just won’t come in black and white.”

Lexi Coulter, director, account activation, Mediasmith: “Realistically, I do see AI disrupting how we think of the traditional agency setup. AI uncovers more time to focus on the big picture tasks that will be executed by smart subject-matter experts. We will likely not need as many generalist, assistant-level roles in the future. That may concern recent grads, for example, but as a professor, I empower my students to see this as an opportunity to become AI-savvy so that they can jump into roles that require strategic thinking with AI assistance.”

Anton Jerges, founder, We Are Collider: “It’s not surprising the industry’s feeling conflicted. On an individual level, people are worrying they’ll lose their job to AI. But on a macro level, we need to be optimistic about AI for fear of following in T rex’s giant footsteps. The only way to gain some sanity in this identity crisis is by looking at the cold hard facts. The Bellwether report references continued stability and growth on the brand experience side. That’s certainly something we’re feeling: our revenue is up 20% YOY. So there’s genuine cause for optimism when it comes to experiential. As for AI stealing our jobs… We’re using it and without a doubt, it’s helping us enhance efficiency. But this doesn’t mean we’re hiring fewer people. Actually, we need more people. It’s just that they have to be AI-literate. For people who are on board with AI, the future is bright.”

Sam Fresco, managing director, Wildish&Co: “If you’d asked me even six months ago, my concerns about AI changing agencies and agency models were far less significant. It’s evolving so quickly that it’s become impossible to ignore. While it’s becoming ever more capable, there’s still a clear need for human intervention, especially in roles like creative director, art director or at a strategic level. It’s clear that AI will start to affect the ‘busy work,’ which often falls to juniors and mid-weights, and that’s a worry, as they’re the next generation we need to nurture. The move towards new models assumes a lot of productized solutions, which makes sense on paper but, as every agency owner knows, rarely works that way in real life. Will we have to adapt? Definitely. But is it the end of agency life as we know it? We’re still confident that we, the people, have a lot to offer.”

Mike Hayward, chief creative officer, Copacino Fujikado: “Agencies and clients are settling into the reality that the next three years (at least) will be constant chaos. The only way forward is to maintain some sense of normalcy and keep moving. With AI, the fear among the capable has mostly subsided as we’re seeing the gains it can generate in the hands of talented people. It’s become a modern tool versus an existential threat. The real impact is being felt at the entry level. For many young people, AI now performs the entirety of what used to be a year-one role.”

Barney Worfolk-Smith, chief growth officer, Daivid: “In Cannes, I felt like the ad industry was moving through the stages of grief and had reached acceptance. But after grief, you’ve just got to get on with it. So, yes, uncertainty within the industry and the jobs market has stymied innovation and investment. Yes, it’s impossible to look beyond the next ChatGPT upgrade. But we are all paid to get on with it. It’s in that stormy environment, with daily tectonic shifts, that the real work is getting done. There’s a lurch toward tech, mirrored in a changing of the guard across the industry. More rolling up of the sleeves to make the changes to do good stuff with AI. Less optimism and more pragmatism, but at least we’ve stopped talking and we’re now doing.”

Eric Perko, CEO, Apollo Partners: “Optimism and pessimism will vary depending on where you are in the industry. There’s no question that AI advancements will replace a great number of jobs at large organizations. However, my perspective is one of optimism. Our organization is small by design and AI empowers us to compete more effectively with larger organizations. When you remove the tedious work, I see AI increasing the importance of the right people, with less focus on team size.”

Will Glynn-Jones, founder, Send Me a Sample: “Am I optimistic or pessimistic? Depends on what time of the day it is – genuinely. It changes by the hour. You can start the morning feeling positive after a decent client conversation and then be brought down to earth by a social media post from a world leader, sending the markets into turmoil. We know that brand CFOs hate uncertainty and that’s all we seem to get currently. That impacts decision-making, budgets and hiring decisions. Never a comfortable place to be. The AI situation is interesting; it’s been a long time since we’ve seen a technological advance that has the capacity to utterly upend the industry. How it affects things depends on where you’re sitting. We run a tech business, so it brings us huge opportunities to streamline, offer new products and advance our offering. That fills me with positivity. If I was a designer in a creative agency, maybe I would feel more pessimistic. My overall view? Ask me tomorrow.”

Ian Henderson, chief executive officer, AML: “We’re seeing the early stages of agencies evolving to a new AI-driven future. Smart businesses and their clients are moving at unprecedented speed towards the automation of low-value commoditized production; AI-powered augmentation of research, resourcing, data analysis and creative thinking, while doubling down on the stuff machines still can’t do, like human empathy and originality. This is not as simple as AI replacing people, although some jobs will inevitably disappear. It’s about increasing the productivity (and therefore profitability) of high-value agency functions while cutting the rest – focusing on the stuff that actually drives insight, ideas and innovation. How optimistic (or pessimistic) you feel will be about how agile you and your agency are, how ready to adapt and how clearly you can identify where to reposition for this new normal.”

Simon Spyer, founder, Data Agents: “The AI hype cycle is in overdrive, with headlines focused on job cuts and supercharged efficiencies. But that’s missing the real story. The real opportunity isn’t about doing the same things cheaper. It’s about doing better things, faster. Marketers don’t need another shiny tool; they need outcomes. And that means shifting the conversation from efficiency to effectiveness. We’re seeing signs of smart optimism. Forward-thinking marketers are quietly bypassing the noise and deploying AI where it matters: speeding up campaign execution, improving targeting, unlocking ROI in weeks, not months. This isn’t about halving headcount; it’s about removing bottlenecks, scaling smart ideas and giving teams room to focus on what drives growth. Yes, there’s pressure. Yes, there are challenges. But if you look past the headlines, marketing leaders are finding real-world use cases that work and they’re optimistic for good reason. The future isn’t just automated. It’s more effective.”

George Sanders, head of growth, UK & Europe, Fox Agency: “Wherever there’s a ruthless fat cat, thirsty investors or an industry built on the business ethics of Cyril Sneer from the Racoons, there will always be the temptation to replace people with technology [see ‘Industrial Revolution’ in your textbooks]. However, many companies already understand the value of original thinking, creativity, and human connection to position themselves against AI replacement [see ‘Human Authored’ in your new textbooks]. Strategy and creativity both require a level of context, empathy and engagement that just isn’t possible for AI. Many more companies will experiment with AI and replace their teams, but then revert back to people when ‘The Great Claims’ turn out to be thin, fizzy snake oil. Brand marketers must scrutinize their employers in terms of commercial priorities, the perception of marketing within the business and the culture they’re curating. Then you should have a good view on whether to start updating your LinkedIn profile.”

Tom Stone, co-founder, Re:act: “The optimism around AI is real, but it’s not blinding. It’s saving time on the more repetitive parts of our work, but that doesn’t mean people become redundant overnight. It means you have to reinvest that time and money into training teams to use the tools properly. That’s the bit too many are skipping. AI can ideate and automate, but it can’t replicate human intuition or the ability to read between the lines of culture and context. Yes, things feel more frenetic (more channels, more noise, tighter budgets), but that’s exactly why the human side still matters. The optimism, from where I’m sitting, comes from the UK and Europe being seen as growth markets again. It’s tough out there, but there’s fresh investment flowing in. That gives people a reason to keep their heads up rather than panic.”

We’ll be releasing more responses in the coming days.