The AI Gap Is Opening. Which Side Are You On?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been in a lot of rooms with agency founders. Different countries. Different markets. Different sizes.

But the same conversation keeps coming up.

AI.

Not the hype. Not the noise.

What’s actually happening inside agencies.

The Shift

There used to be three camps.

Agencies that said no.
Agencies that were experimenting.
Agencies that were fully embedded.

Now there are only two.

The “no” camp has gone.

What’s left is:

Those pulling ahead
And those still tinkering

And the gap between them is growing fast.

What “Pulling Ahead” Actually Looks Like

The agencies moving fastest aren’t dabbling.

They’re:

• Replacing manual processes

• Changing how delivery works

• Building AI into their proposition

• Moving faster across marketing, sales, and operations

They’re doing what AI promised.

And they’re doing it now.

Why Most Agencies Are Stuck

For larger agencies, this is easier.

They have the resources to invest in teams, tools, and training.

For everyone else, the challenge is simpler:

Someone has to own it.

And in most cases, that someone is the founder.

Not because they want to.

Because waiting for the team to figure it out takes too long.

The Reality

There’s usually a moment where it clicks.

The team sees it working.
Momentum builds.
The culture shifts.

But getting to that point requires someone to push it through.

The Question

This isn’t about whether AI matters.

That decision has already been made.

The question is:

Are you the one driving it forward…

Or the one watching others pull ahead?

Because the gap is opening.

And it’s not slowing down.

—

If you want to understand where your agency sits on the AI adoption curve, and what separates the agencies quietly pulling ahead from those still figuring it out, join us at GYDA FORUM on 13th May in London.

It's a full-day private working session for 50 agency leaders. Delegates will be split into groups and will work on three sessions throughout the day... one of which is AI Adoption - here's the detail:

Most agencies are doing something with AI. Very few are doing it in a way that changes what their business actually is.

This session is about the gap between those two things.

What actually works, what is theatre, and what is quietly reshaping how the best agencies price, deliver and grow. This session brings that insight into the room and then turns it on you.

You will compare where your agency sits on the AI adoption curve against your peers. You will pressure-test your current approach, and leave with a clear picture of what the agency of the future actually looks like and how far you are from it.

What you will walk away with:

- An honest read on where your agency sits on the AI maturity curve

- A view of what high-performing agencies are doing right now, and where the real gaps tend to be

- Clarity on what the next 12 months and the next three years look like, and which steps matter most

- One or two things you can act on immediately

If you have been waiting for the dust to settle before making real decisions about AI, this is the session that ends that wait.

If you'd like to join us, we have a limited number of tickets available. Use my discount code: JSTSUNDAY 

https://www.gyda.co/gyda-forum

Want to chat about it? Email me on Janusz@gyda.co