By Amy Rumpler, EVP, Integrated Client Solutions, Basis
As artificial intelligence (AI) permeates the toolset of the advertising industry, it should spark the reimagination of how talent should be utilized, especially at the entry level.
Today, many media professionals are already using AI to help surface performance trends, analyze massive data sets, scrape the web (especially social media) for insights, and buy media with precision at scale. Underneath the hood, ad buying platforms have been relying on machine learning for years to optimize performance through smart bidding tools and automated campaign builders. It’s similar to pressing a car pedal and expecting an output or an action without needing to know the exact mechanics.
AI-aided tools are morphing from being “experimental” to becoming a significant component in media buying. Brands were skeptical of handing over campaign control to AI-driven non-transparent platforms such as Google’s P-max or Facebook’s Advantage+. Now, as the technology performs, large segments of marketers are adopting them. In creative production, generative AI is enabling media buyers and strategists to test messaging variations or visual concepts fast. No longer will they need to press the pedal and go – instead, they’ll need to know where they’re going and tell the machine to get there.
How will this change the jobs in advertising?
In the near future, entry-level media planners at agencies may indeed spend less time pacing campaigns, building slides for client presentations or gathering data — and more time thinking strategically about driving better results. AI can increasingly handle the mechanics of planning — trendspotting, forecasting, budget allocation, and more. Meanwhile, humans can focus on what machines can’t do effectively (yet): understanding context, navigating human relationships, and building unique, differentiated ideas.
New Entry-Level Skillsets
This evolution means that entry-level employees could potentially have different roles. With less time spent formatting Excel docs or pulling data from dashboards, junior talent can focus on the “why” behind campaign decisions — learning the business at a faster clip and contributing to strategic work from day one (or soon after day one).
The shift in focus will require employers to rethink the skills for junior-level new hires. In the past, agencies may have prioritized familiarity with Excel or PowerPoint. However, in a world where AI can generate charts, automate reporting, and design slide decks, would a junior employee be capable of doing more?
Instead, skills like AI literacy and prompt engineering are taking center stage. It won’t be enough just to have advertising experience. Agencies may soon be asking candidates to share case studies in how they solve problems with AI that they weren’t previously equipped to handle.
More broadly, the advertising industry would recruit people who are curious and fearless in experimentation. AI won’t remove the need for creativity and resourcefulness. In fact, if anything, it will reward them. The tools are only as good as the people guiding them.
When they save time through automation, employees can develop skills in areas that typically take years to cultivate: strategy, customer service, business acumen, storytelling, ideation, interpersonal communication and more. The barriers to professional growth are coming down because of AI, and the potential for talent to accelerate up the ladder rises.
Reimagining Team Structures
For senior leadership, AI transformation is not just about tools. It’s about team structure, talent strategy, and long-term value creation.
Rethinking the future roles of junior talent is necessary. If best practices in campaign activation are being taught throughout the organization, how does the training look when the practices have AI ingrained in them. If automation through AI is going to continue accelerating, how do employers build teams that are resilient and adaptable enough to grow with it?
This also means being thoughtful about internal AI adoption. As the tools become more powerful and accessible, companies need to envision what responsible use of AI looks like, especially where client data and user PII are concerned. And with many companies having access to the same type of tools, the differentiation won’t be from the technology itself. Instead, it will come from how humans feed it and use its output. Although we are rapidly heading to a world where tools are differentiated and the winners will be the companies that choose technology wisely for their teams based on price, capabilities, function and more.
Companies are reimagining their workforce with AI at the core of various roles. Some agencies and ad tech companies have appointed executive-level AI leaders to govern the adoption of the technology in their business practices and offerings. Others are rebranding their media divisions as AI Centers of Excellence. As AI continues to transform this industry, companies need to prepare their teams to thrive in an AI advertising era not just from the top down, but from the bottom up as well.
