How the Creative Industry Can Prepare (And Get Excited) for the Democratisation of AI

Image credit: Igor Omilaev via Unsplash​

With WPP now offering a self-serve version of its AI marketing platform called WPP Open Pro, and with more agencies and holding companies now creating AI offerings more than ever before, this is proof that a world where AI is an important part of our industry's business model, and is expected from clients, is already here. What the industry must understand is that the future of AI is singular; you don’t need more people, more processes, or more platforms anymore to create a campaign. The power of creative AI lies in how one extraordinary person can craft, concept and execute without limits.

So, here’s what to expect - and what you need to prepare yourself and get excited for - when it comes to the democratisation of AI, and therefore, a further democratisation of creativity as we know it.

Firstly, the industry needs to understand that AI is already here and anyone resisting it vs. embracing it now will suffer in the long run. Soon, we will be seeing far more one-person agencies versus 1,000 people conglomerates. AI will allow one person or a team of fewer people than what you see now in agencies to not only do a great job for clients, but also deliver campaigns at a scale that was incomprehensible to grasp just a few years ago. But scale doesn’t make AI creative stronger. Singularity, creativity and focus does. That has always been true, and will continue to be even with AI part of the process.

Additionally, many agencies who are only now trying to create studios or AI-disciplines must understand that AI is a rebellion against budgets, constraints, and a lack of people. The second you start creating processes and bureaucracy around it, the less interesting it gets, and you lose the very magic of what it can create. AI is a tool designed for experimentation and free flow, and for ideas you couldn’t make before. The moment you turn it into a system, you drain the soul out of it, so agencies need to ensure they understand that before offering this tool to clients or across their teams.

And lastly, with more and more agencies and holding companies starting to launch AI offerings for clients, we must not forget about the core of what makes our industry special, and that's our love for true creativity. Agencies and clients alike need to remember that the point of AI is not to make more things, or faster things, or cheaper things. But instead, to make things that weren't possible to make before, enabling new forms of expression and creating ideas, and democratising how those ideas are made like never before. The second we focus more on efficiencies instead of creative opportunities, we've lost a bit of the plot.

Ultimately, with more and more people either starting to incorporate AI into their work, or are starting their own businesses where AI is the focus, we must remember that AI is just a tool, and depending on how you use it, it can be what helps invent new forms of creativity unlike we’ve seen before. And with more companies making AI available to more people and creators, I’m excited to be part of a community inventing new ideas and creative possibilities we have yet to uncover.