AI creative is a process, not a prompt.
Most advertisers now use AI in creative. Far fewer have changed how the work gets made. That is where the efficiency is.
The IAB's January 2026 study found that 83% of ad executives say their company has put AI into the creative process, up from 60% in 2024. The same study found a 37-point gap in how ads land: 82% of executives think Gen Z and Millennial consumers feel positive about AI-generated ads, but only 45% of those consumers do.
So adoption isn't the problem. Using AI to make more ads, faster, without a better system around it, is. At Monks I introduced AI production workflows for YouTube that improved campaign efficiency by 15%. The gain came from the process, not from any single tool.
1. Automate the versions, not the idea.
Use AI for resizing, cut-downs, localization, copy variants and first-pass edits. Keep the concept, the brand voice and the final cut with senior people. Consumers notice when the idea itself was generated.
2. Brief for a system, not a single ad.
A good AI-era brief defines what can change (hook, offer, format, length) and what can't (claims, tone, key visuals). That turns one idea into a tested range of executions without drifting off-brand.
3. Connect creative to the media read.
The efficiency only shows up if variants are tested and the winners get the budget. Set up the testing plan with the media team before production starts, and retire losing versions quickly.
4. Put a person on quality and rights.
Someone senior should approve every AI-assisted asset for accuracy, likeness and usage rights. That review is cheap compared with a pulled campaign.
What to do this quarter
- Map one campaign's production steps and mark which ones AI can safely take.
- Rewrite your brief template to define fixed and flexible elements.
- Agree a variant-testing plan with media before the next shoot.
AI should make senior people faster, not replace them with junior ones.
Sources: IAB, "The AI Ad Gap Widens" (Jan 2026)