AI has certainly stirred the pot in the creative industry. In what is now argued to be a frictionless world, the democratisation of technology has turned what was once a specialised craft into an ‘everyone-can-play’ culture. Yet, those behind an idea, vision or creation are battling the hidden frictions of originality, creative judgement and identity.
We interviewed some of the most forward-thinking individuals who each sit in different corners of the creative world to try and better understand how AI is reshaping the industry. As I like to say: many eyes see more.
Axel Engström from Copy Lab, a creative studio built with AI at its core, sees generative tools as a growth driver that amplifies human creativity. Patricia Aliaga DeVall and Hedvig Moberg from ph-any, a hands-on creative studio, approach AI with curiosity but insist the final creative decision must always remain human. Robert Scotland, strategic brand leader and cultural anthropologist, embraces AI for speed and efficiency but argues that lasting brands are still built on conviction, culture and human judgement.
When AI lands on their desk, the strategy is different.
Six questions to unravel how:
1. Was adopting AI a strategic decision, a client expectation, or more of a fear-of-being-left-behind consensus? How has that decision played out for you?
ph-any: ”We’re using AI as a tool to explore and collect information but never to make a creative decision. To have the final say in all steps in a creative process is very sacred to us.”
Copy Lab: ”For me, generative AI has never been about cutting costs—it’s a growth driver. The brands that really get that are the ones who’ll grab market shares. At Copy Lab, we didn’t ‘switch over’ to gen AI at some point—it’s been core to who we are from day one… This technology presents a limitless world for both creatives and CMOs to create impact, opening space for new ideas and opportunities that simply didn’t exist before.”
Robert Scotland: ”I jumped on ChatGPT the week it launched in 2022. Not because clients asked for it, but because I saw what was coming. The payoff has been massive. I can explore strategic territories in hours that used to take weeks. But the real work, understanding culture and making creative leaps, that’s still all human.”
2. AI has cut content creation time by nearly 60% and doubled the volume of work produced. Has that shift in speed changed how you think about timelines, quality, or the creative process itself?
ph-any: ”It’s such an easy way and time saver to work with AI in pre-production to visualize our ideas and to show and brief our clients.”
Copy Lab: ”I don’t believe the world needs more ads–we need smarter ones. With generative AI, it’s possible to create intelligent creative that adapts in real time to consumer behavior. The shift in speed hasn’t made us compromise on quality; in fact, it makes quality even more important. Quality is still king, and AI gives us the tools to deliver it at the right moment, in the right context, with far more precision than before.”
Robert Scotland: ”Speed means nothing if you’re running in the wrong direction. Take our Veo campaign ‘Season Starts With Veo.’ We prototyped ten strategic angles in two days–previously that was two months. But the campaign worked because we spent the saved weeks actually talking to grassroots players, not polishing decks. Volume is a trap. I’d rather create one piece that shifts culture than fifty that get scrolled past.”
3. With AI now part of the process, have you noticed any shifts in how you work with, collaborate, or structure roles within your teams? Are there any new kinds of roles emerging (prompt specialists, hybrid creatives) that didn’t exist a year ago?
ph-any: ”Not right now for us but in the long term, we definitely believe so. It is such an easy way and time saver to work with AI in pre-production to visualise our ideas and to show and brief our clients.”
Copy Lab: ”At Copy Lab, we’re pioneering an industry, and what we can deliver today was impossible just six months ago. Our process evolves at the same speed–and so do the roles. New hybrids are emerging, people who can move seamlessly between concepting, visualizing, and tech. That blend means we’re not just keeping up with change–we’re shaping it.”
Robert Scotland: ”Everyone thinks we need prompt engineers. Rubbish. We need people with taste. Junior people are punching above their weight with AI, but looking senior and being senior are different things. The gap is judgement.”
4. AI makes creation easier, but differentiation harder. With tools generating similar aesthetics, how are you ensuring that your work still stands out? Has your definition of originality changed?
ph-any: ”It’s really important to us that the work we do has our touch to it. We’re allergic to the kinds of AI-generated images that are trending – the ‘starter pack’ Barbie-like packaging, or making a photo move slightly. At the end of the day the tools you use don’t determine the quality of your vision.”
Copy Lab: ”AI models give you what you ask of them. If your prompt is unique, the sky’s the limit. At Copy Lab, we treat prompting like any other craft – mastery comes from thousands of hours. Originality comes from the skill, insight, and curiosity we bring to the table.”
Robert Scotland: ”Everyone’s using the same tools, getting the same outputs. Real differentiation comes from lived experience.”
5. When everything can be generated, trust becomes the one thing that can’t. Have you found a way to integrate AI without losing the essence of your identity or the trust of your audience or clients? How do you ensure the output still feels like you?
ph-any: ”For us, AI can be a part of the process but never replace the entirety. Even if it could, we’re certain we would lose our spark if all we did was prompt. What excites us is using technology in new ways beyond its original purpose.”
Copy Lab: ”At Copy Lab, our creatives bring around 80 years of experience to the table. That expertise is amplified by generative AI, but the essence—the ideas, the judgement, the craft—remains human.”
Robert Scotland: ”Trust comes from consistency. My stakeholders know they’ll get strategic thinking that challenges convention, not just confirms it. Whether AI helped with research or not doesn’t matter. What matters is the thinking is sharp and the work creates impact.”
6. There’s still no industry standard around AI ethics. When it comes to transparency, crediting artists, or disclosing the use of AI, how are you approaching those questions internally and with clients? Have you set any clear boundaries or frameworks?
Ph-any: ”With AI rising as a standard tool, it’s important that the outcome doesn’t replicate existing work. At the end of the day, it comes down to a mutual agreement not to copy someone else’s work–with or without AI.”
Copy Lab: ”Ethics is a virtue connected to human behavior—not technology. Responsibility and compliance aren’t burdens; they’re opportunities to set new standards for an emerging industry.”
Robert Scotland: ”The tools are irrelevant. My rules are simple: never use AI to copy someone else’s style, never let it write something I wouldn’t defend in person, never pretend computer-generated insight is human wisdom. The ethics question everyone’s missing is this: are we using AI to tell better stories or just more stories?”
What these perspectives show is that creativity has never been about the tools themselves, but about the judgement behind them. If AI makes making easy, then culture will reward those who can still surprise us with vision, conviction and trust. And maybe that’s the real point. AI might have a seat at the table, but the spark that drives culture is still all human.
