No matter how much you are using AI today in your agency, it probably isn’t enough. And it definitely won’t be if you don’t ramp up considerably in the next six months.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it. AI really is coming for your employees’ jobs and even your agency itself.
All hope is not lost, but you need to rethink, innovate, and possibly even reinvent.
I’ll explore this a bit more later in this week’s newsletter, but first let’s look at what Jen has rounded up for us this week.
— Chip Griffin, SAGA Founder
Weekly Roundup
Below are some articles, blog posts, podcasts, and videos that we came across during the past week or so that provide useful perspective and information for PR and marketing agency owners. While we don’t necessarily endorse all of the views expressed in these links, we think they are worth your time.
— Jen Griffin, SAGA Community Manager
Latest from SAGA
- Rediscovering your agency’s founding spark (Agency Leadership Podcast)
- How to break the agency feast-or-famine cycle
Articles & Blog Posts
- This Year, Abandon Your Agency’s Annual New Business Plan (The Sutter Company)
- Everyone’s a Salesperson When New Business Slows (RSW/US)
- Everyone Wants Virality. No One Wants Consistency. (Spin Sucks)
Podcast Episodes
- The New Alphabet of PR – From AEO to PESO (Solo PR Pro)
- Why Entrepreneurs Are Unemployable (2Bobs)
- Visibility Beats Perfection, with Carrolee Moore (The Innovative Agency)
- Publicity Is Dead. PR Is Not. (Spin Sucks)
- A Proposed New Definition of Public Relations Sparks Debate (For Immediate Release)
- Building ADHD – Friendly SOPs for Scalable Growth, with Skye Waterson (The Agency Profit Podcast)
- How We Help Agencies Build Strategic Partnerships (The Digital Agency Growth Podcast)
Turn ideas into action
In an effort to help you get the most out of the roundup, we’re sharing a few concrete steps you can take based on the insights shared.
- Audit your new business rhythm. Block 30 minutes to map out what you’re actually doing weekly to generate leads—if the answer is “not much,” commit to one consistent outreach activity you can protect even when client work heats up.
- Accept that “get a job” isn’t your backup plan. If you’re in a tough stretch and fantasizing about shutting down, be honest: would you last six months working for someone else? Probably not. Stop treating employment as an escape hatch and recommit to the long game.
- Pick one visibility channel and recommit to consistency. Rather than chasing the next viral idea, choose the platform where you’ve been most sporadic and set a realistic publishing cadence you can sustain for the next 90 days.
You’re not using AI enough
Your agency will function very differently a year from now because of AI.
It’s your choice whether that is for better or worse.
The truth is that even if you are actively using AI today, you need to be ramping up that usage by an order of magnitude in the coming months.
The level and pace of innovation in readily available AI tools is at a fever pitch, and many of you are just scratching the surface of what is possible.
Too many agencies are more worried about preserving their current book of business and suite of services than truly reimagining what they could be and how they can deliver value for clients in this new environment.
I’ll admit that I have been among those who has been cautious in my adoption of AI into my business activity.
That changed in recent months as I have worked on several AI-related projects and have seen the rapid evolution of the tools even from week to week.
I recently built and soft-launched an AI agency advisor named Sage, on the SAGA website. It does a remarkable job of mimicking a lot of the routine advice that I offer agency owners.
I created a first draft of a book I have been noodling on for years by feeding AI tools hundreds of articles, transcripts, and other content I have created. It did a remarkable job of organizing my thoughts and creating something that so closely mirrors my own writing style I had a hard time figuring out whether it was quoting me or creating original text.
I now have meaningful conversations with AI tools about strategy and ideas to help refine them and poke holes in my logic. This has been made possible by the fact that many of the tools have gone from boring cheerleaders to capable confidantes.
It’s time to stop resisting. Move beyond protecting your turf and instead seek new opportunities. Imagine what you could be doing in 18 months rather than worrying what’s going to happen in the next 6.
Turn ideas into action
- Have a real conversation with AI this week. Bring a strategic challenge you’re wrestling with—a positioning question, a pricing decision, a service you’re considering—and use it as a sparring partner. Push back when it’s too agreeable and see where the conversation takes you.
- Identify one deliverable you could prototype with AI. Pick something you’ve been meaning to create—a workshop framework, a client onboarding guide, a thought leadership piece—and give yourself two hours to see how far AI can take a first draft.
- Ask the uncomfortable question. Look at your current service mix and ask: which of these could a client replicate with AI tools in 18 months? That’s where you need to be adding value they can’t get elsewhere.
