AI moves fast, creative professionals move smarter

Yes, generative AI is reshaping how creative work gets done and its pace is dizzying. But let’s make one thing clear: AI can replace repetitive work. It cannot replace human insight, taste, or strategic leadership (at least for now?).

AI adoption across creative industries it’s accelerating fast. According to FunctionPoint, 67% of creative agencies now use AI for content creation, social copy, branding support, and campaign planning. In the U.S., over 91% of ad agencies are using or actively exploring generative AI, with the biggest firms leading the charge. These tools are no longer experimental, they’re becoming standard practice.

Even more telling: 75% of agencies are now investing real budget into AI tooling, often absorbing those costs themselves as they figure out how to balance automation with value. From brand development to production timelines, AI is rapidly being integrated into the creative process.

What AI delivers (and what it can’t)

AI is a powerful executor. It reduces design workloads, speeds up brainstorming, automates code fixes, and helps us explore creative directions faster than ever. In fact, agencies report that AI slashes time spent on production tasks by 30 to 45%. It lowers costs, shortens turnaround times, and allows us to test more ideas without exhausting internal resources.

But for all its speed, AI still lacks judgment. Generative tools can produce brilliant sparks, but they’re also known to confidently invent facts, misinterpret prompts, or create outputs that look convincing but are flat-out wrong. This behaviour, called hallucination, is one of the biggest reasons why AI cannot be trusted to operate without oversight. It can’t intuit tone. It can’t understand your brand’s backstory or the emotional response you’re trying to evoke. It doesn’t know how to prioritise one message over another, or when not to say something at all. That’s where experience and creative direction matter most.

Creative directors across top agencies agree: AI is an accelerator, not a creator. It can offer quantity, but not necessarily quality. It can assist with options, but it can’t replace human discernment.

What this means for you

As a client, you should absolutely expect some benefits from AI: faster idea generation, quicker mockups, and more efficient production. Our ability to scale concepts or generate multiple content variations has dramatically improved. And because we can explore more directions, you often get stronger final options.

But speed alone isn’t enough. What makes creative work impactful is direction, clarity, and alignment with your brand and goals. That still requires professionals who understand your positioning, audience, and unique selling point. You’ll still need real humans, designers, strategists, copywriters who can interpret nuance, apply critical thinking, and make the kind of choices that resonate with your customers and move your business forward.

AI doesn’t make the result cheaper, it makes the result better.

AI-assisted, human-driven

We use AI where it genuinely improves the work, not to rush through projects, but to free up time for the parts that matter most. When AI handles the repetitive, low-value tasks, we can stay focused on strategy, creativity and the decisions that actually shape your brand. The goal isn’t speed for speed’s sake; it’s to create more space for better thinking and better outcomes.

But nothing is ever handed off to AI. Every idea, every direction, and every final deliverable is shaped, and refined by us, humans.

AI helps remove the noise so we can invest more energy into what truly moves the needle for your brand.

AI isn’t an industry, it’s infrastructure, much like electricity was when it first arrived. Electricity didn’t replace carpenters, designers, or manufacturers; it simply powered their work. AI is doing the same. It’s a tool woven into everything we do, accelerating processes but still needing human direction. And just like early electricity, it can misfire, which is exactly why it needs professionals to guide it, not replace them.