How AI is raising the bar for agency strategists

Strategists in the creative industry face a critical question: How will AI substantially impact their work? While AI’s influence is already here, its ultimate role is debated. Some fear replacement, while others see a leveling effect, quickly delivering “good enough” strategic answers, regardless of experience. But we believe AI isn’t a villain threatening to replace or simply equalize us. Instead, it’s a hero poised to liberate us. Here’s why: Urgency is no longer the exception; it is the norm Today, 24- to 48-hour turnarounds on a brief are not uncommon, and we feel spoiled when we have a week or even two. This sense of urgency is a function of the business world moving fast and technology (not just AI) speeding up how we work. However, anyone who works with these technologies knows that while they do make us more organized, smarter and ultimately more efficient, they still require a human to operate and can take a lot of time to implement. Factuality is expected Only a few years ago, access to data for a creative agency was a novelty and often manifested as “freak facts” that validated a strategist’s thinking. Big data was everywhere, but the systems and people available to make sense of the data were scarce. Now, data usage has been democratized. Making it easier and cheaper to access has, in turn, created an expectation that strategic thinking is grounded in insights that are founded and backed by data. But access does not ensure accuracy. Working with data, now more than ever, requires training to ensure that what is observed is factual and useful. Mental availability is still essential to all forms of creativity The creative process cannot be codified. It’s individual to each of us and can even vary on an individual level, day to day, project to project. But one fact remains constant, and that is that creativity requires the precious resource of mental availability (the freedom of thought to explore new ideas). Mental availability is what allows us to move beyond what’s worked in the past and inherent human biases. It’s the freedom of thought needed to make a creative leap that elevates strategic thinking to be truly insightful. So, how does AI fit into this equation? This is where the Eisenhower matrix of “urgent vs. important” tasks comes into play. This simple but powerful framework, rooted in the time management philosophy of former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, helps prioritize both short- and long-term tasks by their level of urgency and/or importance. It is effectively a method for the prioritization and resourcing of mental availability. If we use the framework to identify and assign urgent tasks to AI, we can spend more of our ever-shrinking time focusing on the important, and the need for accuracy and creativity. This will require strategists of all kinds to think, work and be valued differently. First, we need to allow the foundational and time-sucking tasks that anchor every project to be primarily done by AI. From SWOT and competitive analyses to Boolean queries to quantifying survey results and beyond, AI can pull from historical data to at least provide a strong, time-saving foundation. All strategists need to be set up, trained and able to do this. Second, we need to question everything the AI tells us. As mentioned, AI is and will be a great equalizer. If your initial hypothesis or idea is the same as an AI-generated idea, ask if you went far enough. AI provides output based on what already exists. Strategists must now be responsible for the creative leap from that foundation that could come only from a non-linear, tangential or unexpected line of thinking. Finally, we can no longer praise or value a strategist just for their experience. What counts as excellence is what we do with that information, how we build on it, what insights we unearth and the brave strategic choices we make. While AI can free up mental availability for important thinking, it also sets a higher bar for talent. Being a great doer no longer holds the same weight as being a provocative, divergent thinker. Agencies must proactively adapt their structures, workflows and talent development programs to embrace this new reality. The future belongs to those who prioritize creative leaps over rote execution.

How AI is raising the bar for agency strategists

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