Catering to Clients: How Artificial Intelligence Can Influence the Advertising Agency–Client Dynamic
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Much has been made of the role artificial intelligence (AI) can have in the creative processes of advertising agencies. Not only can it be used to automate tasks and assess the success of advertising on audiences, but it can also alter the relationship between creatives and the work they produce, with computational creativity opening new opportunities to engage in creative and innovative practice. In fact, recent research has emphasized that creative people believe AI technologies will revolutionize the development, execution and dissemination of advertising. Yet, the potential of AI is not without its detractors because of the threat of job losses and ethical conundrums, leading advertising creatives to feel cautious and concerned about the place of this new technology in the industry. Of particular concern is how AI will influence the relationships between clients and agencies. Using data gained from five focus groups held in Aotearoa, New Zealand, with advertising creatives, this research article illuminates the perspectives of current practitioners on the role and potential influence of AI on creative production processes. It finds that most of those attending the focus groups believed that the speed of AI in creating content would increase the pressure placed on agencies to meet the needs of clients, that clients may opt to engage in their own computational creativity costing agencies money and reputation and that aesthetic considerations of agencies and clients may come into conflict.