The Drop Times: The Brief Is Changing Before the Work Does

Dries Buytaert’s recent article on AI and the unbundling of digital agencies maps out many of the pressures and changes agencies are navigating right now. He outlines the shift from execution to orchestration, the reduced value of raw platform expertise, and the growing need for agencies to focus on outcomes rather than tasks. One idea that deserves more attention, though, is how AI might not just change the work agencies do, but change how clients define the work they need in the first place.

Most discussions around AI in agencies focus on internal operations. How can teams use AI to write content, generate code, automate testing, or produce visuals faster? That’s important. But equally important is what happens outside the agency, how client expectations change once they begin using the same tools themselves. When AI gives clients direct access to capabilities they once hired agencies for, their view of what an "agency" is supposed to deliver will shift.

This creates a more subtle kind of unbundling, not just in how services are delivered, but in how problems are framed. A client who used to ask for a full website may now ask for a performance audit or a targeted campaign strategy instead. A marketing team with AI-generated content at their fingertips may turn to agencies less for copywriting and more for brand consistency, cross-channel orchestration, or data-informed decision support. The deliverables may look the same on the surface, but the reasoning behind them changes.

Agencies that understand this shift early will be in a better position to adjust their messaging, services, and proposals. The real question isn't how AI will change agency workflows. It's how AI will reshape what clients believe they need help with. That shift won't happen all at once. But it's already starting, and those who recognise it can prepare for a very different kind of conversation at the next client pitch.

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Thank you, 
Sincerely 
Kazima Abbas 
Sub-editor, The DropTimes.

 

 

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