Much has been predicted about how AI may be coming for ad jobs, but the emerging tech is also poised to lead to the creation of new roles within brands and agencies. AI leadership positions are already starting to emerge at major brands such as Coca-Cola and Amazon, which are appointing people to oversee internal strategy as well as coordinate implementation for business partners.

But whether generative AI, at this early stage in its development, warrants such leadership roles is a question the ad industry is still debating. 

The potential for a larger trend of generative AI job titles seems especially high in marketing given how widespread the technology is becoming. Since ChatGPT first hit the scene last November, numerous major brands have experimented with generative AI in both internal and consumer-facing ways, and agencies including Dentsu, WPP, Huge and MNTN have rolled out products using the technology as a foundation.

A few of these players do indeed have generative AI-specific roles already in place. 

Coca-Cola last month became the first major brand to appoint a global head of generative AI. Pratik Thakar is charged with developing platforms infused with AI tech in order to enhance the consumer experience. 

Thakar, who had served as the beverage giant’s head of global creative strategy and content before taking on the new title, previously told Ad Age that the diverse functionality of AI is what makes it so disruptive. A Coca-Cola spokesperson declined to comment for this story. 

Amazon Web Services, whose efforts around AI include a partnership with Omnicom, appointed Vasanth Philomin as VP of generative AI earlier this year, a spokesperson confirmed. While Philomin’s former role was already AI-focused, the addition of “generative” to his title reflects the company’s specialized interest in helping clients adopt chatbots and other content-creating AI.

Another instance is Accenture, which maintains several mid-level, generative AI-specific roles, including “managing director of generative AI transformation,” “generative AI and DevOps director” and “generative AI lead.” The differences between these positions, as well as their specific duties and when they were created, are unclear. It is worth noting, however, that the executives overseeing Accenture’s AI strategies do not hold positions with “generative AI” in the title, a person familiar with the matter told Ad Age.

With so many discrete applications, generative AI remains amorphous, which makes the appointment of a lone overseer of strategy seem premature, said Oleg Korenfeld, CMI Media Group’s chief technology officer. 

Still, companies appear to be heading in the direction of these roles. As of June, nearly 170,000 open jobs in the U.S. called for AI skills—3,575 of which asked specifically for skills pertaining to generative AI, according to Adzuna data cited by CNBC.

And just because a company, such as CMI Media Group, dismisses the need for such a position today, does not mean it won’t in the future.

“Down the line, there needs to be a leader to connect all these dots,” Korenfeld said.

Generative AI, just not in name

Despite the small but eager cohort in the professional services sector of marketing, most traditional advertisers are not yet sold on appointing a generative AI-specific role.

The time is too soon to appoint such positions, said Keith Johnston, VP and group director at Forrester Research. Moreover, carving out a dedicated title to generative AI could not only be premature, but also counterproductive to early efforts.

Some of R/GA’s clients have only just begun to entertain the idea of this kind of appointment, without any formal plans for following through, said Nick Coronges, executive VP and global chief technology officer. R/GA itself is not currently considering the creation of such a position.

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Neither is Wunderman Thompson, according to Alex Steer, global chief data officer, nor are any of its clients to his knowledge. However, Steer said that he is seeing brands and agencies move people into new roles leading generative AI strategy, just without any reference to the technology in the title.

Refraining from using the term “generative AI” in a title could have several explanations. Firstly, many companies may want to avoid pigeonholing their use of AI to include only the generative subset. Instead, roles with broader titles and remits may be preferable.

These positions can be found at any number of traditional marketing companies. Edelman’s Alexia Adana, for example, has helped spearhead the company’s experimentation with generative AI as a creative director, a spokesperson previously told Ad Age. Dafne Hefner, chief strategy and transformation officer at Kraft Heinz, has embraced AI by leading partnerships with developers such as Microsoft. 

Some of these roles include the term “AI” in their titles. Sam Dover was appointed global AI strategy lead at Unilever in July—a mid-management-level role, a spokesperson confirmed. And Perry Nightingale, senior VP of creative AI at WPP since 2021, manages research on the technology and its intersection with creativity.

In fact, WPP is one of a few organizations that even have a “chief AI officer,” the role held by Daniel Hulme since the holding company acquired his tech firm in August 2021. The value in appointing such a role has been a topic of discussion since at least 2017, though the title has mostly emerged at niche tech and engineering companies.

Chief metaverse officer, revisited?

Another explanation for holding off on a generative AI-specific role is fear of repeating the trajectory of Web3 positions. Last year, when Web3 was at its peak in terms of mainstream attention, brands and agencies appointed chief metaverse officers. But several of these roles have since been hollowed out, leaving some to wonder whether they were ever anything but opportunistic appointments.

A similar worry may apply to the emergence of generative AI-specific titles. It is clear that agencies and advertisers are, in part, hoping to generate chatter by announcing their AI efforts, typically alongside grand claims that the technology “changes everything.” The appointment of a generative AI lead would surely indicate a serious commitment to the space.

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As of now, Coca-Cola appears to be the only major consumer-facing brand to have announced a head of generative AI. Whether this is because the beverage giant is early and out ahead of its competition, or merely capitalizing on hype, is unclear. 

CMI’s Korenfeld also sees the metaverse and AI as related, but said that the latter poses far more potential in terms of the tasks that are required and the opportunities that could emerge.

“Whereas the metaverse is linear, AI is much broader,” he said.