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Any agency that says they don’t use AI is lying

Any agency that says they don’t use AI is lying.

Let’s just say it.

If an agency claims they don’t use AI at all, they either don’t realise they are… or they’re trying to sound all high and mighty.

AI isn’t just ChatGPT. It’s not some futuristic robot replacing creatives in a dark studio somewhere. AI is already embedded in the tools we’ve been using for years, every single day – professionally and personally.

  • It’s in Alexa.
  • It’s in Siri.
  • It’s the voice giving you directions on Google Maps.
  • It’s in your Netflix recommendations.
  • It’s in your email spam filter.

And in the creative world? It’s been there for years.

  • Auto-enhance tools in photography.
  • Content-aware fill in design software.
  • Smart resizing.
  • Background removal.
  • Search suggestions.
  • Predictive text.

None of that is new. We’ve just never called it ‘AI’ in a dramatic way. The current conversation makes it sound like agencies are either ‘using AI’ or ‘not using AI’ – as if it’s a moral choice. It’s not.

AI is a tool. And like every tool before it, from desktop publishing to website builders – it changes how we work. It speeds things up. It removes some manual labour. It opens new possibilities, but it doesn’t replace judgement. It doesn’t replace understanding an audience or commercial awareness and it doesn’t replace experience.

Saying you don’t use AI at all isn’t impressive. It’s unrealistic. The real question isn’t whether an agency uses AI. It’s how they use it.

Do they use it to cut corners? Or do they use it to enhance thinking? To move faster where it makes sense? To spend more time on the strategic decisions that actually matter?

Because the advantage isn’t in pretending AI doesn’t exist. The advantage is in knowing where it adds value and where human experience still leads.

AI isn’t the enemy of creativity. Used well, it’s an accelerator.

But direction, judgement, and accountability?
That’s still human.