The news: Despite AI’s near-universal uptake across ad agencies, many industry professionals worry that its growing emphasis on speed and savings could come at the expense of creativity and brand building, per a Forrester and 4As study cited by Mediapost.

• The study found that 87% of US marketing agencies are using genAI already, while 50% are using agentic AI for campaign execution.
• 81% are using genAI to boost staff productivity; agencies are also using the tool for strategizing, research, content creation, reporting, and competitor analysis. That widespread use shows AI is no longer experimental for agencies, but its value is still largely tied to making existing workflows faster.
• Roadblocks remain: 63% surveyed expressed concerns about accuracy and bias with AI tools, while 62% and 55% cited issues like legal risk and privacy/security concerns, respectively.

Those risks make human oversight especially important as agencies expand AI from back-end productivity tasks into more strategic and client-facing work.

Why it matters: Forrester vice president and principal analyst Jay Pattisall noted that “AI has fundamentally transformed marketing agencies,” per Mediapost. But as AI becomes increasingly embedded in agency operations, he said agencies must “invest in creativity, talent, and marketing performance” to ensure the technology supports stronger business outcomes rather than simply speeding up tedious processes.

Fifty-seven percent of marketing agency leaders cite AI content oversaturation as a top concern, per AgencyAnalytics—underscoring the risk that agencies’ efficiency gains could flood the market with more content, without necessarily improving creative quality or brand impact.

Together, the findings point to a clear challenge: Agencies have adopted AI quickly, but they still need to prove it can improve the quality and effectiveness of the work, not just the speed at which it is produced. That distinction matters because more output can dilute brand differentiation if agencies do not couple AI with strong creative direction.

Implications for agencies: AI-driven efficiency will only create value if agencies pair it with the creative talent and strategic judgment needed to turn faster output into better work.

• AI is often best used for routine, repetitive tasks. Using the tool for tasks like measuring engagement will allow human talent to prioritize higher-level creative and strategic work, such as brand voice, storytelling, and campaign planning. In that role, AI can help agencies protect time for the kinds of thinking that clients are ultimately paying for.
• Human oversight remains key for major brand decisions, compliance, and audience-facing creative. Agencies can test AI for creative variants, but should reserve judgment and give employees a final say in areas where consumer skepticism toward AI remains high.
• Even as AI automates some entry-level tasks, agencies should continue investing in developing young talent to maintain diversity of thought and ensure a pipeline of future leaders; the most successful agencies will treat AI as a productivity tool that augments human expertise, not as an all-out talent replacement.

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