The IPA AI Magazine
September 2026 edition: AI maturity, responsibility and competitive advantage.
Balancing innovation, ethics, talent, economics and human judgment in an increasingly automated industry.
What kind of industry do we want to build with AI?
Generative AI has moved from novelty to necessity at remarkable speed. The question for our industry is no longer whether AI will change advertising, but what kind of advertising industry we want to create with it.
In this edition of the IPA AI Magazine, we move beyond experimentation and efficiency gains to explore the bigger strategic challenges and opportunities AI presents for agencies, brands and the wider creative community.
Among the topics we examine are:
- What it takes to prepare the next generation of talent for careers increasingly shaped by AI.
- How cultural barriers can hold back AI adoption and how creating an inclusive environment will unlock greater organisational value.
- Why agencies are rethinking their commercial models in an AI-enabled world.
- How agencies and brands can maintain distinctiveness when access to the same technologies has become almost universal.
- The growing importance of responsible and ethical AI creation, particularly around intellectual property, transparency and creative rights.
- How AI is reshaping client relationships, collaboration and decision-making.
What emerges throughout these discussions is a consistent theme: competitive advantage will not come from AI alone. Many of the debates explored in these articles remind us that the industry's most enduring strengths remain firmly intact: distinctive thinking, building trusted relationships, strategic insight and creative ambition. They continue to matter, perhaps now more than ever.
I would also like to thank Conor Nichols for his editorial leadership and for bringing together many of the expert perspectives featured throughout this edition.
Paul Bainsfair
Director General, IPA
AI Trends
How AI is reshaping agency economics
A collection of perspectives from agency leaders on the commercial realities of AI. Contributors discuss pricing models, profitability, AI investment, vendor lock-in, productivity gains and whether agencies should charge for efficiency or for outcomes.
The identity crisis: Is AI making every brand look the same?
We're exploring whether the widespread use of generative AI is leading to brand homogenisation. Industry leaders debate if AI threatens distinctiveness or amplifies existing creative weaknesses.
Future of the Industry
I interviewed AI about the industry's future
Special Reporter Conor Nichols puts an AI model in the hot seat to find out what it really thinks about advertising’s future.
Responsible AI drives adoption
The biggest barrier to AI adoption is not a lack of skills, but workplace culture. Drawing on research by Code For Good Now, Zehra Chatoo highlights an "AI Judgment Penalty", where women face greater scrutiny for using AI despite producing identical work.
Supercharging young talent in the AI age
Industry leaders discuss the decline in traditional graduate opportunities, the growing importance of AI fluency and argue that the future lies in redesigning junior roles, not eliminating them.
Applied AI
An advertising lawyer's reflections on AI talent and disclosure
IPA Director of Legal Helen Bowyer examines the debate around AI-generated talent, disclosure and the evolving legal framework.
Specsavers x MG OMD: AI's impact on the partnership
Specsavers’ Ian Maybank and MG OMD’s Aaron Watkins discuss navigating AI-driven disruption across search, planning and performance.
How ethical AI art platform ‘Artfair’ by Bria and Publicis London addresses the IP problem
Publicis London CCO Noël Bunting explains how ‘Artfair’ by Bria rebuilds gen AI around consent, licensing and creative compensation
Quick Reads
Roundup of major AI platform developments that agencies should be watching
Topics include ChatGPT advertising expanding into Europe and Google's AI-native ad formats.
Let's work together
We would love to work with you on one of the next issues of the IPA AI magazine. What topics, issues and stories would you like to read about? Would you like to feature in a future issue with your AI experience or story?
Explore the archive
Catch up on previous issues of the IPA’s AI magazine, featuring insights, ideas and practical perspectives on how AI is shaping the advertising and communications industry.
Published by the IPA, the IPA AI Magazine helps member agencies make sense of the fast-changing AI landscape, with practical insights, expert perspectives and real-world applications of generative AI.
Managing Editor: Conor Nichols
Design: Jenna Betts
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