Sage Introduces AI Built for Britain’s Business Heroes

Sage has launched its new 'Authentic Intelligence' campaign to spotlight Sage Copilot, a powerful AI tool built specifically with and for small businesses and accountants across the United Kingdom. A bold statement of intent and a mark of category leadership in the fast-evolving world of AI. Through this campaign, Sage is pushing back against the way most people experience AI today; generic, impersonal, and one-size-fits-all. Sage AI is more than artificial. It’s built on over 40 years of expert domain knowledge and shaped by real customer insight.

Created by VCCP, the heart of the creative idea is a bold mixed-media visual featuring 74 unique 3D letters, inspired by the tools and textures from real British businesses, including tradespeople, café owners, and beauty influencers. The campaign runs across digital out-of-home, press, radio, paid social, podcast sponsorships, and influencer channels from the 22nd July to 21st September, UK-wide. The campaign aims to build trust and relevance in AI by showing, not just saying, how Sage Copilot meets the needs of time-poor business owners.

The campaign was produced in collaboration with artists Sean Freeman & Eve Steben - a full service studio specialising in art direction, typography, illustration and photography, and was brought to life by VCCP’s global content creation studio Girl&Bear. While the topic of the campaign focuses on AI, Sage opted to work with Sean & Eve to create authentic imagery, rooted in the realistic objects and textures from the genuine worlds of small businesses. To bring the typography to life, Sean & Eve used a mixed media approach, even combining photography of real objects and textures to help build the letters.Real business owners also feature in the radio executions to add authenticity and relatability.

Richard Moloney, senior director, brand strategy and creative at Sage, said, “Sage Copilot is built with the knowledge and experience of real businesses at its core. ‘Authentic Intelligence’ captures that essence perfectly, it’s a powerful message that shows we understand the unique pressures our customers face and that we’ve built a solution to meet those needs head-on.”

Matt Lloyd, deputy executive creative director at VCCP, said,“This campaign is all about showing, not just telling. We wanted to create something that felt unmistakably crafted by and for real businesses, so every visual element, every material used, is inspired by the tools of the trade. It’s AI made with human hands, and that’s what makes it so powerful.”

VCCP’s digital experience agency, Bernadette, led on digital experience, while media planning was handled by Dentsu.