Unlocking AI’s Full Creative Potential: Opportunity or Overhype?
UK businesses are investing heavily in AI, with an average spend of £321,000 annually on these technologies. Yet, despite AI’s growing presence in areas like website content, customer service, and analytics, its true creative potential remains mostly untapped.
While 93% of business leaders report a return on investment from AI, nearly half admit the improvements in customer experience are slight. This contradiction raises a key question: is AI genuinely unlocking creativity, or are we just scratching the surface?
AI as a Creative Sidekick, Not a Replacement
Will Lion, BBH’s Chief Strategy Officer, says AI isn’t here to replace creatives but to become their most valuable assistant. It processes data into creative starting points, accelerates learning, and helps avoid clichés—allowing human teams to focus on originality and storytelling.
At BBH, AI supports prototyping ideas, curating references, and inspiring fresh thinking. Still, human taste and originality remain essential. This approach reflects a shift in how agencies use AI—not to replace imagination but to enhance it.
AI Encouraging Bolder, More Lateral Thinking
The most exciting uses of AI go beyond speeding up tasks or analyzing data. They give creatives room to think differently, test riskier ideas, and reframe challenges.
For example, McCann London’s Atomic Soup initiative brings creatives together weekly to explore provocative topics. These ideas feed into a custom AI system trained on years of interdisciplinary dialogue. Jonathan Brown, head of strategic product, describes it as a “Hive Mind,” where human and divergent thinking boost AI’s imaginative outputs.
Beyond Bolt-Ons: Integrating AI into Creative Strategy
Many brands still treat AI as an add-on, layering it on top of existing workflows. Jon Williams, CEO of The Liberty Guild, sees this as a major disconnect. He argues AI should permeate strategic thinking, not just execution.
Embedding AI throughout marketing—from insights to planning—turns production into the outcome of a more agile, augmented creative process.
Andrés Ordóñez, global CCO at FCB, agrees. AI’s value isn’t just faster output but changing how teams think. “Too many brands treat AI as a plug-in,” he warns. “Real transformation happens when AI is part of the creative system itself.” AI frees creatives to focus on the emotional truth at the heart of storytelling.
Rethinking Workflows and Collaboration
To fully realize AI’s creative potential, workflows must be redesigned. This means blending data, strategy, and storytelling rather than keeping them in separate silos.
Despite these possibilities, many companies find AI’s ROI abstract. Storyblok’s data reflects this tension—brands know AI is critical but lack clarity on unlocking its full creative use.
Matt Henry, head of innovation at native@AMV, puts it plainly: “Efficiency is table stakes. Properly used, AI augments us all. What excites me is the scale of what’s now possible.” He points to projects using Omnicom’s AI tools—from reviving musical legends to designing campaigns in real time.
“People expect brands to use AI now,” he adds. “What they don’t expect is how much advertising will change in the next 12 months.”
What True Creative Transformation with AI Looks Like
It starts by rethinking AI’s role—not as a last-minute execution tool but as a strategic partner from the outset.
The most impactful AI use happens early, helping interrogate briefs, uncover hidden insights, and open new directions before any ideas are set. AI works best in dialogue with human imagination, sparking creative tension rather than replacing it.
This calls for building new workflows where data, strategy, and storytelling interweave deeply.
Ultimately, AI’s real strength lies in mixing scale with imagination—not automating creativity but amplifying its reach. While short-term results may feel underwhelming, a quiet revolution is changing how brands think, create, and tell stories.
Forward-thinking companies aren’t just using AI to do old things faster—they’re using it to ask new questions. And the answers could define the next era of creativity.
- Learn more about practical AI applications for creatives at Complete AI Training.
- Explore AI tools that enhance creative workflows and storytelling here.