Generative AI will impact a lot more jobs than it will displace, with the total jobs lost from AI and automation by 2030 less than 5%, Forrester principal analyst Xiaofeng Wang said at AdNews’ Sydney L!VE.
"Agencies that leverage it well will remain viable. GenAI won't only impact jobs, but it will create new ones as well," Wang says.
"Agencies will also shrink in size as they grow in AI. In the US, some 33,000, or 7.5% of advertising jobs will be automated by AI by 2030," she said.
Forrester forecasts that the ad jobs with a high generative AI influence that are easier to automate include proof-readers, copy markers and technical writers.
"Ad agency jobs with low generative AI influence are data entry keyers, broadcast announcers and human resource managers," Wang says.
"Ad jobs with a higher generative influence, but that are harder to automate, include computer programmers, statisticians and editors."
According to Wang, the more a job requires originality, the harder it is to be replaced.
"Creative-related jobs will thrive in the next few years such as managers, creative roles and data scientists. By contrast, process-oriented jobs will decline, such as administrative roles, labour intensive jobs and clerks," Wang says.
The key difference between these groups of jobs is originality, she says. Automation cannot replace creativity.
Forrester’s human/technology equivalent (H/TE) value creation system (consisting of humans, technology and IP) give agencies the tools to augment, assist and improve work.
"We came up with H/TE, there are three key elements of this model, technolgy, poeple and IP. Technology brings in accuracy, people can learn differentiation and people and technology together create ideas...which creates value," she said.
"Take agencies for example, there are tasks that humans are better at... and there are tasks using technology that are more efficient."
With a media planner using H/TE for example, Wang says humans will need to define the media objectives, but can use technology to accelerate insights.
"For creative-related jobs, humans are better at conceptual thinking but can use technology to scale the velocity of the content," she says.
“With digital strategic planning, humans can define audiences in their own persona but can also use technology such as GenAI to find information such as best practices and best case studies.”
Wang says a lot of agencies have already invested in AI-powered tools and platforms to use internally and help their clients and brands to increase efficiencies.
Forrester also forecasts the benefits of this new H/TE model compared to the traditional working model.
"Benefits of the H/TE model include a better gross rate; agencies can generate a higher revenue. Profitability will also be higher. If you continue to use this route, agencies will remain viable and will thrive," Wang said.
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