WhatsApp to Stephen: It’s all AI now Stephen. Apparently if you want to look smart, the trick in all AI conversations is to talk about your use of agents.

WhatsApp to Stephen: No I don’t know either. Agents are basically the AI version of apps or programs that do tasks for you with minimal human direction. Meanwhile I’ve got to talk to a struggling advertising client about how they explain several thousand lay-offs. Agent Rutherford, on the case.

Hi Alex, I’m sorry to hear about the redundancies. This must be a tough time for you all. Obviously there is no getting past the economies being forced on you by market conditions but I wonder if we can’t try to turn this into a more positive story. A lot of firms are slimming down as they integrate AI into their working practices, so perhaps this is a story of you becoming more efficient and “agentic” as you steal a march on rivals by the adoption of cutting-edge AI.

This is not you retrenching or axing staff. It is enjoying the benefits of your early investment in the technology of the future. Shareholders will like that. I predict that pretty soon every company will be using AI to explain every retrenchment. This is a chance to get ahead of the curve.

Best, Rutherford

Well obviously it would be even better if it actually were true. But no one can prove you aren’t becoming more efficient. Some carping analysts will focus on the in-year falls in revenue or profits but they are failing to understand the transformation of your business and the guaranteed productivity gains you are about to bank from this investment. And remember this is just the start.

We know many industries will be facing an AI challenge so this needs to be framed as a bold bet on the future. But not too bold. You saw WPP created AI tools to let clients come up with their own ads, and I can see how businesses like Meta doing the same thing leaves ad firms no choice but to offer similar products. But empowering clients like that is a bit like loading the guns for your own firing squad. 

Remember cutting staff is good, losing billable hours is bad. If that becomes the story then you look like a business in decline. So we need to get in early with a strong comms strategy that shows how you are surfing the wave.

Best Rutherford

WhatsApp to Stephen: It may work with Addville but I’d be careful trying to use the AI line on your client. They overinvested in real estate. I’m not sure there’s an AI explanation for that.

The key here is to persuade people that while the client tools offer a basic service, the real value is in your own secret sauce. Don’t become the middleman everyone thinks they can cut out. Your micro-targeted data analysis, your specially designed algorithms and the human-level contacts you have give you special insight into the business needs. The tools are only there for those who can’t afford the premium service. It’s like giving someone a football. It doesn’t make them Lionel Messi. 

What we need is a message that persuades customers that they are missing out on something if they try to do it all themselves. You need to speed the development of some powerful AI agents to bring the best of both tech and human resources together, to showcase to clients they can’t do things on their own.

At Monkwell we have always ensured our AI tools are agentic. We have some fabulous cutting-edge tools but it is the agents’ close collaboration with our expert humans and our own corporate and governmental intelligence and network that deliver the premium results and insight. This is the story you also have to tell.