Agencies Need to Build Products, Not Just Sell Hours
Jordan Wain, director of digital transformation and AI solutions at APS Group, sees a fundamental shift coming to how creative agencies operate. Within three years, he said, AI-powered productisation will move from experiment to essential infrastructure.
Agencies that continue billing by the hour will lose to those building scalable, repeatable products - whether internal tools, AI agents, or bespoke platforms deployed across multiple clients. The commercial model will change. Value-based pricing and performance-driven contracts tied to outcomes will replace time-based billing.
The Q&A Problem
Right now, the biggest obstacle is how teams think about AI. Most treat it as a question-answering tool. That's wrong.
"The shift requires more than just access," Wain said. "It's about empowering people, building trust, and educating them on what's possible."
Teams need to understand that AI models are trained on past data. By nature, they replicate patterns. They don't create something truly new. That's where human creativity enters the picture.
Where AI Fits
AI works best as a creative co-pilot, not a replacement. Wain positions his teams to stay in control, using AI to accelerate and scale output while relying on human insight, taste, and creativity to challenge patterns and push ideas forward.
The misconception that everyone needs deep technical skills to use AI effectively holds teams back. What matters is understanding fundamentals and learning to prompt effectively.
Building Products Over Services
Wain's approach starts with the core problem. He maps the user journey, identifies where technology creates the most impact, then selects tools that deploy quickly and scale - often low-code or AI-driven options.
A recent retail client needed more than a standard campaign. The solution was a bespoke tool integrated into existing systems that streamlined workflows, unlocked better data, and created a more responsive experience for both the team and customers.
That's the difference. The tool improved how the business operated day-to-day, not just how it marketed.
What Agencies Should Do Now
Agencies preparing for this shift should invest in internal tools, train teams to think like product builders, and embed AI into core workflows - not just at the edges. The winners will operate like tech-enabled product businesses, not service providers.
Wain sees AI agents and automation as the foundation. His own work with robotic process automation at The Very Group showed how technology can free people from repetitive work and unlock space for creative problem-solving.
The future belongs to small, efficient teams - often under 10 people - serving massive audiences through tools that remove barriers to creation. Agencies that make that shift now will define the next three years of the industry.
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