AI’s Impact on Advertising: 2025 Predictions
Prior to the festive break - remember that distant memory? - we launched a three-part series on how artificial intelligence had impacted advertising over the course of 2024.
Today we're rounding out the series with part three: a look to the future with a series of predictions for AI's relationship with advertising during 2025.
RG Logan
Chief strategy officer at Grey New York
As we look toward 2025, it’s likely we’ll see a generative AI ad that passes the Turing test, making it indistinguishable from one created by humans. The AI-powered campaigns that capture our industry’s attention tend to be big, anthemic pieces. While undeniably impressive, they still often carry that uncanny, not-quite-human quality. But the nature of AI is iterative—what feels slightly off today will likely feel seamless tomorrow.
That’s why I hope our industry shifts its focus. Instead of chasing headlines with AI-generated blockbusters, we should prioritise applying AI to the more functional parts of the marketing mix—adaptations, conversion-driven content, and performance marketing. These are areas where AI excels, freeing up our creative minds to do what they do best: lateral thinking, emotive storytelling, and brand-building. After all, the biggest value our industry offers is its talent, and protecting that is critical.
This isn’t to say AI should only be a tool for efficiency or a way to ‘do more with less’. The true potential of AI lies in its ability to elevate the quality of our ideas and executions across the board. At its best, AI should act as a creative and strategic amplifier, not just a productivity engine.
As the technology evolves and becomes embedded in agency processes, our biggest challenge will be rethinking business models that still rely on selling time. Like it or not, most agencies today are in the business of billing hours, not selling ads, content, intellectual property, or ideas. If AI delivers on its promise of faster, more efficient workflows, we’ll need to find new ways of working, fresh compensation structures, and—most importantly—ways to nurture and protect the talent that makes our industry exceptional.
Neil Evely
Head of innovation at HELO
This year we will no doubt see a huge influx of really average, very obviously AI made content which will flood every device we have and we are right to be concerned. However this has happened before with music, photography, podcasts, etc., and once the peak subsides, you can argue its mostly been a positive process, empowering new creators with new tools and connecting them with new audiences.
My personal hope is to see even more projects (such as our Snickers José Mourinho experience) where AI is used with more care and nuance to help elevate an idea and achieve things that have previously been impossible to do and not just from a visual content point of view. There is such enormous scope to create experiences that are much more personal and engaging, at scale, by using AI as a building block rather than deploying as a magic bullet and hoping for the best.
Because of how quickly AI is evolving, we are constantly in react mode, chasing the next iteration of how ‘amazing the tech is’, keen to prove that we are on the bleeding edge.
But moving at this kind of pace can be detrimental. Sometimes we need to take a beat, remember what we’ve been good at and what we cherish when it comes to storytelling and make sure we let the craft lead the tech. The results will stand out, it will feel genuine and we’ll learn more from the process.
And you know what, there may even be a project that doesn't require AI, and as controversial as that sounds, that's OK too.
Bob Briski
Global SVP of AI at DEPT
If 2024 was the year of experimentation, 2025 may well be the year of integration. The groundwork laid this year—infrastructure, experimentation, and new use cases—could set the stage for AI to become as essential as the internet is today. It’s a reminder that foundational technologies often take time to mature. The question isn’t whether AI will transform the world but when—and whether we’ll be ready to embrace the opportunities it creates.
Leah Lanza
Chief production officer at ThePub, Publicis Groupe Canada
AI is fundamentally reshaping how we turbocharge productivity and scale our creative efforts. As we prepare for an anticipated 5 times increase in content demand by 2025, integrating the right tools and tech will be crucial to sustaining business health. Brands must be able to show up with more contextualised, tailored content—faster than ever before.
That said, AI without human insight is just potential—it’s the creative intuition and strategic vision behind the technology that makes the difference. At ThePub, we believe in using AI to amplify human creativity, not replace it. Our work is driven by ideas, and technology is the tool that helps us deliver them at the pace of today’s content consumption.
Jason Snyder
Global CTO at Momentum Worldwide
The frontier is expanding beyond the cloud. Edge computing will bring AI closer to consumers, moving inference to local devices. This evolution reduces latency, enhances privacy, and unlocks new creative possibilities in real-time interactions. Edge AI will allow brands to deliver hyper-personalised experiences without sending sensitive data back to centralized servers, balancing innovation with security.
Equally transformative are agentic AI models—systems capable of reasoning, self-improvement, and autonomous decision-making. In 2025, we’ll see these models emerge as powerful tools in experiential marketing and customer service, adapting dynamically to human behaviours. These agentic systems represent a shift from pre-programmed automation to true interactivity, enabling brands to meet consumers in ways that feel alive, intuitive, and deeply personal.
But let’s not get lost in the technology. AI isn’t magic, and it’s not a shortcut. It’s a catalyst—a force multiplier for those willing to invest in the creative and strategic thinking required to wield it responsibly. The real transformation won’t come from what AI can do, but from how we choose to use it.
Caroline Parkes
Chief experience officer at Wonderhood Studios
As a customer experience expert who believes in creating ‘peacock moments’ for brands, I love the opportunities that AI brings to find meaning in how consumers relate to brands and white space to do something really differently. Ever the optimist, I expect our industry to be more optimistic and more embracing of AI in 2025, to see how it can fuel creativity, not just efficiency.
I also believe 2025 will be the year AI becomes deeply integrated into everyday culture. I heard comedian Rhys James make a joke recently: “AI is the new racism—everyone thinks it will take our jobs.” My Oxford friends working in publishing as editors are certainly worried about this. However, for my strategy community—whether at big machine agencies like RAPP or with my new colleagues at Wonderhood—we’re in awe of the incredible insights AI offers. The ability to connect vast amounts of data and extract rigorous new insights (rather than simply proving a hunch) is extraordinary. But here’s the key: it still takes human imagination to transform that information into something valuable.
Looking ahead, I hope to see more positive, helpful, and playful uses of AI. Brands that balance creativity with thoughtful application will lead the way in transforming customer experiences.
James Calvert
Head of generative AI at M&C Saatchi UK
Looking to 2025, perhaps we might see AI become more mundane - a background enabler rather than a front-page. Success won’t come from forcing the creative industry to embrace AI but from showing its quiet, tangible value. AI didn’t transform 2024, but it began normalising itself - turning from revolution to evolution.
Tomas Roope
Co-founder and chief AI strategist at The Gardening Club
My 2025 predictions (if I am right) or hopes (if I am wrong):
1. Acceptance of AI and its role. I am hopeful 2025 sees a collective untwisting of our knickers as we realise and accept that the AI cat is out of the bag and copying is not learning. A large percentage of existing data has already been ingested into the big models, which are now evolving based on usage rather than historical data. Addressing the issue of IP, creative culture has always learned from previous IP (BBH was the top customer of Prime Video's on Wardour Street back in the day), while copying IP has always been illegal, well since April 10, 1710. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Anne)
2. AI and gen alpha. Brands will soon realise that AI will become a defining issue for alphas who will embrace AI as it helps them distinguish themselves from their analogue and craft-loving predecessors. Specific brands that equip gen alpha with the 'pointy stick' of AI to playfully provoke their elders are likely to thrive.
3. The tipping point for AI adoption. We’re nearing a point where incumbents will gain more by embracing AI than by resisting it. Despite surprising reluctance from the marketing industry to adopt AI, my experience in the product and art spaces has highlighted its immense potential as a transformative tool. The shift is inevitable, and those who adapt quickly will reap the rewards.
Todd Sussman
Chief strategy officer at FCB New York
The revolution is coming. AI is going to radically disrupt, overturn, and reimagine everything. It’s going to break everything apart and then put them back together in ways that will fundamentally transform industries, people, training, skills, outputs, inputs, expectations, services, and solutions. It will alter the DNA of agencies and reshape the advertising ecosystem at its core.
2024 was the year of Roy Amara’s famous observation, often referred to as Amara’s Law: “We tend to overestimate the impact of technology in the short term and underestimate the impact in the long term.” In 2024, we collectively exclaimed, “Holy sh*t, we made a spark!” But, what comes next is fire and that’s when things are going to truly get weird.
Guto Terni
Co-Founder and creative director at ROOF Studio
Brands that maintain a human touch in their content, advertising and otherwise, will win when connecting with their audience. It’s not just an advantage; ‘made by humans’ is necessary. At the same time, AI should be seen as a tool that can unlock new levels of creativity and efficiency. By letting AI handle routine tasks, we free up time and energy to focus on what makes each project unique and meaningful. Instead of getting stuck in repetitive work, we can dive into crafting ideas, riding a new production flow that’s faster and more engaging, allowing the creative process to feel more natural and fluid – something I think every creative and artist would welcome with open arms.
Hattie Thompson
Senior strategist at Impero
We can hope to see more meaningful progress in 2025 when we break down the cultural divide in agencies and make sure that everyone knows AI is a tool for them, across every agency discipline. This will help shift the focus beyond the shiny incremental shortcuts to focus on collaborative problem-solving.
AI has the capabilities for breakthroughs for both our target audiences and our industry. But it won’t happen in agency silos. With more diverse thinking powered by AI - across agency disciplines - we can create more impact in 2025.
Nicholas Blake Steele
Technology director at Armadillo
2024 saw several of Armadillo’s partners roll out integrated AI tools and functionality into their platforms. Using these tools it’s now easier than ever for CRM specialists to create multi-touch omni-channel customer journeys. This has enabled agency and client teams to rapidly build, test and iterate on their customer journeys far faster than before. This is transforming how teams approach complex journeys such as multi-year lifecycle programmes. These can now be delivered at speed allowing budget to be redeployed towards enhanced strategy and creativity and drive improved customer loyalty and retention.
Looking ahead to 2025, Armadillo expects brands to continue to embrace AI in the tools they’re already using and paying for - integrated AI allows brands to safely explore their curiosity into how AI can work for them without incurring costs or potential risk with unproven AI services that may not plug into their existing platforms.
This shift by brands towards AI will require in-house teams and their partner agencies to deeply understand these new tools and adapt their approach to working together to maximise their adoption. At Armadillo, we’re excited about these changes as we continue to support our clients by offering the right mix of strategy, creative and technology expertise, and we believe AI will help brands reach and engage more customers to supercharge their results and unlock their marketing technology investments.
Manolis Perrakis
Innovation director at We Are Social Singapore
A number of video and audio generation tools with the likes of Suno, Runway, Sora and Adobe Firefly have entered the market causing both angst and excitement in the industry. From fears of replacing our jobs to hallucinations and errors to potential copyright infringements, there are a number of hurdles to overcome in 2025 before these tools become mainstream. These challenges have definitely influenced the cautious approach we have seen among clients. One to watch, though, is Adobe with Firefly where it has set the standard by only training the AI on licensed materials. Next year we will definitely see others take this approach which in turn, I believe, will help clients feel more comfortable to safely use these generative technologies.
Next year, we will also see a marked improvement in the quality and consistency of video and audio generation technology as it continues to evolve. This will drive more AI-generated content into our feeds with more creators likely to use generative AI tools to produce videos, images, and other content. Beyond this, I believe we will also see generative 3D content gain more traction. Until now, it has seen far less development. However, innovations like Gaussian splatting – an advanced form of photogrammetry – will help pave the way for agencies and their clients to create more immersive social experiences.
AI agents hit the market in 2024 but next year really will become the year they go mainstream and we will see clients and agencies leveraging them both back-of-house and for customer facing support. These agents are going to become our partners and assistants in 2025, helping us in a multitude of scenarios like customer service, development, language translation and in gaming and entertainment. I’m excited to see how they evolve over the next 12 months!
Anthony Yell
Chief creative officer at Razorfish
In 2025, the evolution of AI promises less spectacle but more substance. Beyond the well-trodden paths of content creation and optimisation, lesser-known advancements could have equally profound impacts. The fusion of generative AI with Internet of Things (IoT) devices will create hyper-localised campaigns, delivering tailored messages to connected homes, vehicles, and wearables. This convergence will redefine how brands meet consumers in their daily lives.
In 2025, the challenge for the industry will be to balance AI’s potential with its responsibilities. Success will hinge not just on adopting new tools, but on using them to enrich, rather than erode, the trust and artistry that define great marketing.
John Jamison
Technologist at H/L
As we look to 2025, I expect to see more integration of AI into creative processes—perhaps even shifting from supporting research and insights to being part of more ideation and creative execution. We have already leveraged it in some of our production processes to generate simple B-rolls and to make adjustments to productions once they are in that last 2% of post-processing. We’re moving from proving AI can work to understanding exactly where it adds the most value. Next year, we’re focusing on making AI fluency the norm at our agency—transforming it from a tool we use to a skill we own.
Avinash Kaushik
Chief strategy officer at Croud
For 2025, there’s a clear path forward. AI is poised to move from helpful assistant to true collaborator. Regenerative creativity will enable AI to co-create ideas.
The new creative process won’t just be efficient, but original and emotionally resonant. Enhanced predictive analytics will allow companies to anticipate consumer needs with precision, turning data into decisions. Automation will free up time and resources, giving teams time to focus on high-value strategic initiatives.
2024 was the year AI was taken seriously, but its full transformation lies ahead.
