Future of Media London: The AI lowdown

At the Future of Media London 2025, held at Kings Place on the 4 and 5 November, The Media Leader was joined by industry experts to discuss how AI is changing advertising and what a generative future looks like.

Despite a range of beliefs around AI, one thing was clear, the introduction of AI has fundamentally changed the industry, and understanding how to use this technology will be key for success in the future.

Watch the video below:

Bruce Daisley, author and workplace culture expert

Daisley underlined in referencing how AI has changed the workplace: “It’s the big golden question.

“Nothing is going to be the same.”

He outlined the importance of being humble in this process and not underestimating the pace of AI’s progress.

Sean Wright, chief insights and analytics officer, Guideline

Wright argued in spite of the common narrative AI has changed everything, he doesn’t believe this is the case yet.

He said: “We haven’t seen wholesale change just yet.”

However, concerning AI’s impact on referrals and website traffic, Wright acknowledged this is where the most change has been enacted so far.

Annette Male, CEO, Dentsu

Male highlighted the pros of AI, in its ability to drive efficiency and enable a less hands on approach.

She stated how “in the next one to two years is when we will feel the biggest shift.

“It’s incredibly exciting but on the other hand its probably one of the scariest times that we are going through.”

Laura Rowe, managing partner, head of decisions science, OMD UK

Rowe highlighted the importance of not coasting when it comes to AI.

“We still need to train AI and ask it the right prompts,” she said.

Using AI lazily, as opposed to becoming “expert co-pilots” of AI was underlined as a danger zone.

Sophia Ahmad, chief consumer officer, Sky UK

Ahmad stated the role of creativity within advertising and how despite the benefits of AI, it “fundamentally doesn’t replace creativity.”