US agencies are likely to lose 32,000 jobs to automation by 2030

According to Forrester, 56% of CMOs working in the B2C sector in the United States have already used generative AI in marketing, while another 40% are exploring use cases to do so. 

Agency jobs most at risk from generative AI include clerical roles (28% of job losses), sales and connected roles (22% of job losses) and market research and connected roles (18% of job losses). 

In the US, the agency share of jobs in management, public relations, creative roles, market research, software (including web and digital interface designers), and data science will grow. However, jobs for clerical, sales, finance, administrative and labour-intensive roles will decline.

Some agency jobs are harder to automate

“Job roles like editors and writers – that have a higher generative AI influence – are harder to automate,” the report says. 

“These roles are more likely to utilise generative AI technology to automate mundane tasks and increase their productivity. As a result, Forrester predicts a pending inversion of agency workforce composition, from less costly junior talent matched to senior managers, to high-paid creator skillsets paired with generative AI assistants.”

The report finds that originality is the most significant factor that lowers a job’s automation potential. When ‘intelligent creativity’ – a marketing approach that combines creative problem-solving with AI technologies – is deployed, agencies can help make marketing smarter, develop campaigns faster, and make creators more valuable.

Comments the industry news website, Marketing Dive: “The impact of generative AI on agency jobs over the next two years will remain ‘modest’ as ethical and legal issues surrounding the tech, including those related to intellectual property and bias, are hashed out, per Forrester. 

“That said, marketers might need to start integrating AI and shoring up their know-how or otherwise fall perilously behind.”