WPP launches Open Pro to put AI marketing in marketers' hands
WPP is changing how agency tech gets delivered. Open Pro gives brands direct access to the same AI platform its agencies use - without needing an agency team in the loop.
With this move, WPP becomes the first major holding company to offer enterprise-grade access to its proprietary AI marketing stack. It's a clear shift toward product revenue, self-serve models, and giving marketers tighter control over planning, creative, and activation.
Short on time? Here's your quick guide
- What is WPP Open Pro?
- Why this move matters now
- From services to software: a new agency model
- What marketers should know
- The future of marketing: AI transformations by 2026
What is WPP Open Pro?
Open Pro is the client-facing version of WPP Open - the AI platform used across WPP's agencies. It's built for speed, brand safety, and scale across markets.
- AI-powered strategy: Audience segmentation, channel planning, and budget allocation using WPP's proprietary data and insights.
- Automated content creation: Generate brand-safe, cross-channel assets in real time.
- Direct publishing: Push campaigns to major ad platforms or route through Open Media Studio for managed execution.
Enterprise teams get a unified stack. Local teams can adapt for their market while staying on brand - without waiting on a central agency squad.
Why this move matters now
WPP is shifting from selling services to selling infrastructure. That brings the SaaS model into agency land and widens who can use WPP's tech - from startups and ecommerce to regional units that don't want full-service retainers.
According to CEO Cindy Rose, Open Pro is "an evolution in WPP's business model" that meets how modern marketing work gets done: in-house, on-demand, and measurable.
From services to software: a new agency model
Agencies are becoming platform businesses. WPP's angle is full-funnel: data planning, production, and distribution in one system. As CTO Stephan Pretorius puts it, some companies hide their AI behind service teams or narrow features. Open Pro is built for outcomes, not just asset output.
Yes, tools like Canva and Adobe Firefly have raised the floor for creation. WPP's pitch is different: enterprise data access, creative governance, and brand compliance - areas where pure software often hits limits.
What marketers should know
- 1. Self-serve is going enterprise. The same tools WPP agencies use are now in your hands. Move faster, test locally, and scale globally - without a retainer.
- 2. AI is now operational. This isn't a lab demo. AI sits inside media planning, creative workflows, and publishing so teams can tweak strategy, not just watch automation run.
- 3. Agencies are joining the platform economy. WPP is monetising its IP and systems. Expect similar moves across holding companies as they chase scalable revenue.
- 4. Creative and campaign automation are converging. One interface for planning, production, and activation will reshape team design and martech budgets.
How to pilot Open Pro (practical playbook)
- Start with one use case: e.g., a product launch or seasonal push across 2-3 channels. Define one primary KPI and two supporting metrics.
- Lock your brand guardrails: Upload brand codes, claims, visual rules, and disallowed phrases before you generate anything.
- Set roles and approvals: Strategist (inputs and controls), Creator (iterations), Media lead (publishing), Legal/Brand (final checks).
- Measure the full loop: Time-to-first-concept, version count to approval, cost per variant, and lift versus your manual baseline.
- Localize with intent: Let markets adapt copy and formats, but enforce global claims and visual consistency in the system.
The future of marketing: AI transformations by 2026
- Automation: Briefing-to-first-draft times drop to minutes. Variants scale automatically by audience, market, and channel specs.
- Personalization: Dynamic creative becomes standard. Messaging shifts by micro-segment and stage, not just language and format.
- Decision-making: Budget reallocation moves closer to real time, informed by predictive models across channels and cohorts.
- Emerging tech: Creative generation blends text, image, and video in a single workflow. Content ops become modular and API-first.
- Ethics and governance: Provenance, licensing, and bias controls are table stakes. Brand safety is enforced at generation, not retrofitted.
If you're building your AI stack, this is the direction: connected planning, production, and publishing - with governance baked in.
Where to go next
Want a structured path to upskill your team for AI-first marketing? Explore the AI Certification for Marketing Specialists for hands-on workflows, prompts, and governance checklists.
For background on WPP and its platform efforts, visit WPP.
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