UK marketers reduce agency contact as AI transforms workflows
Nearly half of marketers in the UK report contacting their agencies less than once a week, reflecting the growing impact of artificial intelligence on marketing workflows and the agency-client relationship, according to new research.
Reduced agency interaction
The research, based on a survey of almost 500 UK marketers, finds that 46% now speak to their agencies less than weekly. Just 29% maintain daily contact, while 16% admit to communicating with agencies only once a week. The data suggests a steep decline in the regularity of agency interactions as in-house marketing teams increasingly rely on AI-powered solutions.
AI integration
Artificial intelligence has become embedded in numerous marketing functions. Twenty-seven percent of marketers point to improved time efficiency as a key advantage, while 24% cite increased productivity and 21% list cost savings as a benefit of AI use. Marketers highlighted frequent uses for AI such as content creation (28%), virtual assistants or chatbots (27%), customer service operations (24%), and personalisation tools (22%). As a result, teams are bringing more work in-house, potentially at the expense of external expertise.
Consumer sentiment
Despite AI's operational benefits, consumer attitudes present a challenge. In a separate survey of UK and US consumers, 44% of respondents said they would like content less if they discovered it was made using generative AI. The effect is also pronounced in the apparel sector, with almost a quarter (24%) indicating they would be less likely to purchase clothes or shoes designed by generative AI.
Only 17% of consumers believe artificial intelligence is capable of being more creative or original than a human, a view shared equally by marketers themselves. This gap in perception signals that marketing efforts relying heavily on AI may risk reducing content's effectiveness among target audiences.
Changing agency roles
As AI automates and streamlines routine tasks, marketing teams weigh the benefits of greater efficiency against the loss of external insights agencies traditionally provide. Over-reliance on in-house AI could mean missing the outside perspectives that help ensure campaigns resonate with consumers.
With shifts in how and when agencies are engaged, there is emerging recognition that agencies may evolve into more strategic partners than simply content providers. The choice of AI tools, their assigned tasks, and maintaining human oversight are seen as key to deriving value from new workflows.
Balancing expertise
"While AI can manage repeatable tasks with ease, its creative ideas and creative outputs need interrogating and this is where the client-agency relationship is redefining itself. With many agencies proving their value as strategic partners over content generators, marketers need to balance using AI to do more with less, without negatively impacting how consumers receive their marketing efforts. The real value of marketing lies in human insight and understanding what your audience thinks, feels, and cares about. The marketers who succeed will use AI to work faster and more efficiently, while anchoring every decision in real audience insights and strategic counsel of partners," said Birthe Emmerich, CMO, GWI.