Inside ad agencies, AI is already embedded in the workflow. But in contracts and compensation models, it’s barely mentioned.
That disconnect shows up clearly in the first wave of ADWEEK’s quarterly marketing tracker conducted with NewtonX, which surveyed 501 advertising decision-makers across the U.S. and Canada. Nearly two-thirds of respondents say AI has had a moderate or significant impact on their day-to-day responsibilities. Yet when it comes to the fine print, the shift is far less visible: 39% of agency contracts don’t address AI usage at all, and another 27% do so only in broad terms.
In other words, the workflows have evolved, but the paperwork hasn’t.
