Artificial intelligence has already become core infrastructure for the advertising business. It is revolutionizing advertising by boosting effectiveness and scalability, as exemplified by the WPP platform, stated WPP CTO Stephan Pretorius in an interview with Fortune.
According to him, the WPP Open platform, which leverages AI for campaign planning, creation, and launch, is now utilized by over 85,000 company employees globally and serves major clients—from Google to L’Oréal. This enables the agency to radically enhance speed, scalability, and operational efficiency.
However, Pretorius emphasizes that AI does not replace creative thinking; rather, it removes “heavy technical labor” from teams. Machines take over data analysis, hypothesis testing, and option generation, freeing up people for strategic and creative decisions. It is human judgment, he notes, that provides cultural relevance, emotional depth, and contextual understanding.
WPP places special emphasis on employee training. The company is investing in this area so that specialists can not only use AI tools but also comprehend their limitations. This approach reflects Pretorius’s view: technology should augment people, not substitute their expertise and accountability.
Another crucial matter is ethics and trust. Pretorius observes that without human oversight, AI risks replicating bias and generating content detached from reality. Therefore, the final decision in creative work and data handling remains with people who are responsible for brand values and audience perception.
Ultimately, in Pretorius’s view, the future of advertising is a hybrid model where AI delivers speed and precision, while humans provide meaning and originality. This equilibrium between algorithms and human experience will be the main competitive advantage for agencies in the coming years.
It was previously reported that WPP Media is expanding its collaboration with Google—the agency will gain enhanced access to data on YouTube content creators. The new integration will allow for more precise influencer selection for clients and campaign construction using the video platform’s unique analytics.
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