Key stat: 68% of PPC professionals at agencies worldwide say their agency is automating repetitive tasks to increase efficiency and cut costs, the top AI-evolution response in a December 2025 survey from PPCSurvey.

Beyond the chart:

• The automation push has a personnel side. Some 91% of US senior agency leaders expect AI to reduce headcounts, and 57% have already slowed or paused entry-level hiring, according to a Sunup report.
• Meanwhile, AI is already embedded in the workflows agencies run for clients. Some 40% of marketers globally use AI for social media management, 39% for marketing automation, and 35% for ad campaign management, per MiQ.

Use this chart: Drop this in your agency operations review to show where AI investment is going first. Use it to benchmark automation priorities against industry peers when scoping AI tooling, or show this to leadership debating whether to focus AI spend on cost savings, talent enablement, or new revenue lines.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• Ad Agency Trends 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)
• US Ad Spending 2026 (EMARKETER subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from the March 2026 report titled PPCSurvey "State of PPC Global Report 2026," 1,306 PPC professionals worldwide were surveyed between November 17-December 24, 2025.

We prepared this article with the assistance of generative AI tools and stand behind its accuracy, quality, and originality.