The end of the agency model? Or the start of a strategic renaissance with AI?

“The agency world has 18 months left.” This sentence sounds like a prophecy. However, it is not science fiction: it is an observation. Sir Martin Sorrell (S4 Capital) announced an 11.4% drop in sales in the first quarter. But beyond economic or political turmoil, the real weak signal is elsewhere: brands are reappropriating creation, analysis and management. Thanks to AI.

Brands (almost) no longer need agencies... for certain tasks

We saw it recently with Duolingo, Shopify, Klarna : these brands adopt an “AI-first” approach and internalize what agencies used to charge at a high price.

• A junior with Midjourney or Runway can produce visuals that are as effective as many experienced designers.
• A well-built prompt in GPT chat replaces hours of campaign design.
• Tools like Pecan.ai or Fivetran + GPT analyze better than a lot of insight departments.

The danger for agencies? Continue to sell services that their customers can now reproduce internally... for free, or almost.

But all is not lost. As long as you reinvent yourself.

1. Recognizing what AI can do (and better than us)

Making reports? Replicable. Generating content ideas? Easy. Edit a basic video? In one click.

First step : stop charging for human time where AI is faster, more coherent, more scalable.

2. Back to the strategic, to the real

AI, as brilliant as it is, does not understand your market, your constraints, your weak signals, your business intuitions. This is the true value of an agency: in The strategy, theacculturation, the prioritization, the workflow design.

A good agency tomorrow won't sell a logo, a LinkedIn post, or a report. She will sell a Intelligent reading of the environment, a tailor-made action plan, a transformation of internal capabilities.

3. Using AI to create more value (not just to save time)

AI should not be a tool for Produce faster, but for To think differently.

A few tips:

• Design hybrid AI/human workflows to speed up decision cycles.
• Building smart dashboards (StratBoard type) to guide business decisions.
• Create AI playbooks to make your customers autonomous... and thus move up a notch in the value chain.

The new agency model: from production to management

Former model: Design → Design → Media Plan → Traffic → Reporting

New model: Strategic Insight → AI + Automation → Internal Build → Outcome Management

An AI-first agency doesn't sell assets, it builds capabilities

This is where the future is at stake: Help customers do better with their data, their tools, their talents. And not do it for them.

> Train teams in AI.
> Designing decision support systems.
> Activate data in real time.
> Create feedback loops between actions and results.

In conclusion: Less production. No more orchestration.

The agency of the future is not a service provider. It is a strategic architect of the digital age. One facilitator of transformation. One conductor AI and data.

The good news? Customers always need help. But not for the same things as before.