The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the workforce has been a topic of debate, with no clear predictions about the outcome. According to research and advisory firm Forrester, by 2030, 32,000 jobs within the U.S. agency workforce will be replaced by AI, representing 7.5% of the industry’s total employee base. Forrester predicts that nearly one third of ad agency jobs will be at risk from automation by 2030, particularly physical or process-oriented roles. On the other hand, creative problem-solving roles are expected to thrive as originality is a significant factor that lowers a job’s automation potential. Jobs such as editors, writers, authors, and roles responsible for guiding AI outputs are predicted to dominate the job market. Digital marketing, strategy specialists, and data scientists are also expected to see growth. Generative AI technology will be used to increase productivity in senior and creative roles without leading to job loss. However, there are legal and ethical risks associated with generative AI that need to be considered. By 2030, generative AI is expected to account for one third of ad jobs lost to automation.
| Signal | Change | 10y horizon | Driving force |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI to replace 32,000 jobs in US agency workforce by 2030 | Job displacement | Higher demand for creative problem-solving roles | Automation and efficiency |
| Physical and process-oriented roles at higher risk of automation | Job losses in clerical, administrative, sales, and market research roles | Decrease in physical and process-oriented roles | Automation and precision |
| Creative problem-solving roles expected to thrive | Increase in jobs for editors, writers, authors, and AI trainers | Growth in creative and original roles | Importance of originality |
| Digital marketing and strategy specialists to grow by 20% globally | Job growth in digital marketing and strategy | Increase in headcount for digital marketing and strategy specialists | Increasing demand for digital marketing |
| Generative AI to increase productivity in senior and creative roles | Productivity increase without job loss | Integration of generative AI technology in senior and creative roles | Efficiency and productivity improvement |
| Generative AI already used by majority of senior marketers | Adoption of generative AI in marketing | Increased use of generative AI in marketing | Efficiency and effectiveness in marketing |
| Some ad sector jobs least influenced by generative AI | Minimal impact on production workers, printing press operators, and designers | Stability in job roles for production and design | Limited applicability of generative AI |
| Agency workforce composition to shift towards higher-salaried creative roles | Inversion of workforce composition | Transformation of agency workforce structure | Integration of generative AI assistants |
| Modest job losses from generative AI in the next two years, significant by 2030 | Gradual increase in job losses due to generative AI | Growing impact of generative AI on job market | Development and adoption of generative AI technology |