Why the safest career move in advertising is the one that scares you
If you are feeling scared about how artificial intelligence will impact your advertising job, you’re not alone.
Alfie Lagos, founder of Lexlab, finds it helps if you picture every agency as a ladder. The rungs on that ladder represent the value the agency can deliver to its client — and AI is giving agencies the ability to build new rungs at the top.
"Picture every agency as a ladder. The rungs on that ladder represent the value the agency can deliver to its clients. AI is giving agencies the ability to build new rungs at the top."
I had a conversation recently with someone on my team. Not a formal one. More of a passing comment that stuck with me. They said something along the lines of, “With everything you’re doing with AI, should I be worried?”
It was honest. And I think it reflects something a lot of people in advertising are feeling right now but not saying out loud. There is a genuine, widespread anxiety that AI is coming for jobs. That the people pushing hardest to adopt it are the same ones who will eventually use it to trim headcount.
I understand why people feel that way. So I want to be clear about where I stand, both as a business founder and as someone who has spent the last year embedding AI into how our agency operates: humans are more important today than they have ever been. And the opportunity in front of the people willing to engage with AI is enormous.
Love the ladder analogy, Alfie – totally agree!