This weekly update reveals how artificial intelligence agents are transforming creative industries around the world. Companies, artists, and creators are finding new ways to work alongside AI tools while trying to protect what makes human creativity special.

The advertising industry in the United States held its annual Advertising Week conference in New York this month, with more than 20,000 people attending. Many of the sessions had titles about balancing AI with human creativity, like "Making marketing more human in the age of AI" and "AI needs a human layer". This shows that even though AI is becoming more powerful, people in creative jobs want to make sure humans stay important in the creative process.

One of the biggest stories involves OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT. They launched their first global brand campaign last month, and they made an interesting choice. Instead of using AI to make all the ads by itself, they hired a real advertising agency to help create the campaign. This is surprising because OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, recently said that AI would replace 95% of the work that ad agencies do. The ads were made using traditional methods, including shooting on 35mm film with a special custom lens. They appeared on TV, streaming platforms, billboards, and social media, showing everyday people using ChatGPT for things like cooking and planning exercise routines. An OpenAI spokesperson explained that ChatGPT worked as a "behind-the-scenes co-creator" during the creative process. The AI helped brainstorm ideas and provided the answers that appeared in the advertisements, but humans did most of the creative work. The ad agency's creative director said they wanted the work to "feel tactile" and "grounded," which is why they used more traditional filmmaking methods.

Creators and influencers who make content for social media are also adopting AI tools at a very fast rate. According to the 2025 URLgenius Creator Trend Index, AI adoption among creators has increased by 131% year-over-year. This means the number of creators using AI has more than doubled in just one year. These creators use AI agents to help them make videos, write captions, edit photos, and come up with new content ideas. This trend is happening as brands spend more money working with influencers. In the United States, companies are predicted to spend more than $10 billion on influencer marketing in 2025, which is 23.7% higher than what they spent last year. Experts say that creator marketing is changing from just a way to advertise into a full creative strategy. Creative agencies are becoming more like "orchestrators" who help connect brands with creators and provide them with the right technology tools.

However, AI is also causing worry and problems in creative industries. Big technology companies like Meta and Salesforce are building AI-powered tools that could automate large parts of the work that agencies currently do. Research company Forrester predicts that 15% of agency jobs will be eliminated in 2026 because of automation, redundancies, and efficiency improvements. This has created anxiety across the advertising industry, with some marketers becoming more cautious about spending money on new projects.

The most controversial development involves AI-generated actors. An AI production company called Particle6 launched an AI talent studio called Xicoia, which created a photorealistic AI character named Tilly Norwood. They unveiled this AI "actor" at the Zurich Film Festival, which is in Switzerland, and it immediately caused outrage from real actors and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) in the United States. This is exactly what actors were worried about in 2023 when they went on strike and fought Hollywood studios for protection against AI-generated content. A professor from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business said that Tilly Norwood is probably just a novelty or creative experiment. He explained that much of the value we give to famous actors like Leonardo DiCaprio comes from their ability to create art that emotionally moves people. Since AI characters like Norwood cannot have real experiences, they might struggle to truly connect with audiences. On the other hand, AI actors like Norwood are much cheaper than human actors, never get sick, and can work as long as needed. They also wouldn't be protected by union regulations, which means movies could be made much faster and cheaper. But the professor pointed out that if art is created in huge volumes, it might become less valuable because scarcity is what makes art special.

Despite all these changes and concerns, many industry leaders believe there is still an important place for human creativity. The CEO of the advertising technology platform Smartly said that "AI is redefining the role of agencies" and that the agencies that survive will be those that blend human creativity with AI-powered technology. At Advertising Week, executives talked about how partnerships between brands and agencies are evolving, with teams working more closely together and sharing goals. The key message from this week's news is that AI agents are becoming powerful tools that can help creative professionals work faster and try new ideas, but human creativity, emotion, and connection remain essential parts of making art and content that truly matters to audiences.