By Chris at The Artist Studio. Updated by The Artist Studio, .
Many do. In Forrester’s June 2026 research with the 4As, nine in ten US agencies surveyed used generative AI, and half used agentic AI for marketing execution. Ask which parts of your work AI touches, who reviews the output and how the work is priced.
We use AI at our studio. The useful questions are what it assists, what a person checks and what your fee covers. This is how we would assess the work before agreeing a brief.
How widely is AI actually used in marketing?
Using AI somewhere in a business is different from handing it the whole job. These studies ask different questions, so their percentages should not be read as one league table.
Adoption does not tell you how much work AI does. The March 2026 CMO Survey asked US marketing leaders what percentage of the time their companies used generative AI in marketing activities. The average was about 22% among the 187 respondents to that question. This measures reported time, rather than output quality or commercial results.
UK surveys use different samples. The British Chambers of Commerce’s March 2026 release reported 54% of firms actively using AI, compared with 35% in its 2025 research and 25% in 2024. Around 94% of the firms surveyed were SMEs.
In DSIT’s separate study of UK private-sector businesses with at least five employees, marketing and administration were tied at 72% among the 919 businesses using or planning to use AI. That includes planned use; it is not the share of all UK businesses using AI for marketing.
DSIT also asked 700 businesses currently using AI about revenue: 12% reported an increase since adopting it. That is self-reported in one survey, rather than proof that AI caused the increase. Time saved does not automatically translate into money for your business.
Should you pay less if your agency uses AI?
Sometimes. It depends entirely on what you were buying.
You’re not alone in asking. In Productive’s published findings from its 2025 survey of 180+ agencies, 27% said clients had already asked for an AI-related price cut and 47% expected that conversation. Those responses describe one agency sample; they do not determine what your fee should be.
We would separate the conversation into three parts.
Production time. For routine drafts, reporting or transcription, ask whether AI has changed the time needed and what checking remains. If you pay by the hour, ask how the actual time is recorded. A faster first draft does not establish that the whole job should cost less.
Judgement and responsibility. Strategy, creative direction, deciding what to leave out and reviewing the finished work still need an accountable person. With a fixed fee, compare the agreed deliverables, quality, reviews and responsibilities rather than assuming a discount from the tool used.
What changes for you. If AI has made the agency faster, ask whether that changes the scope, turnaround or fee. There may be a sensible reason for the price to stay the same; ask for an explanation you can assess.
Our guide to what your quote should include sets out the work, responsibilities, reviews and separate costs to agree before starting.
Where does AI genuinely help, and where does it not?
Our working view is that AI is useful for preparing material and options. It needs more care wherever the work depends on first-hand knowledge, accurate detail or a particular brand.
Useful with review:
- Research and synthesis, with the original sources checked before relying on a summary.
- First drafts of structured content, then edited around what the business actually needs to say.
- Data and reporting work, checked against the source records and calculation.
- Creative variations to assess against the brief.
- Transcription, summaries and administration, reviewed for important omissions or errors.
Needs particular care:
- First-hand experience. A generated description cannot replace talking to your customers or checking the product.
- Brand voice. Judge a draft against real examples and the intended audience.
- Facts, quotations and local details. Check them against an appropriate source.
- Images of real products or people. Check that the content shows what the customer can actually expect.
The unhelpful middle. Filling a content slot is not a useful objective on its own. If you cannot explain who a post is for, what it helps them do and how you will review it, producing it faster does not resolve that problem.
Does AI content hurt your Google rankings?
AI use alone does not determine how a page ranks. Google’s current guidance says generative AI can help with research and structure, but stresses accuracy, quality and relevance. It calls for manual fact-checking and review before publication.
Google’s scaled-content policy concerns creating many pages primarily to manipulate rankings without helping users, however those pages are made.
On 15 May 2026, Google clarified that its spam policies also apply to generative AI responses in Search. That records a clarification, rather than a new exemption or penalty for using AI.
For a local business, the warning is practical: ask what makes each proposed page useful. Google’s doorway examples include substantially similar city or region pages that funnel people to the same destination. A town name swapped into a template is not a substitute for genuine local information.
Human review is part of responsible publishing, not a guarantee of rankings. Check the facts, add information you can stand behind and make the page useful to the person who finds it.
Do your customers notice?
The sources below describe reported preferences. They do not tell us how reliably your customers can identify AI content.
If you use synthetic imagery or video, check whether it represents the product accurately and whether the audience should be told how it was made.
In its report on AI in branding, Clutch attributes two findings to a June 2026 survey of 408 consumers: 36% selected visible people behind a brand as the strongest loyalty driver, and 49% selected real-customer stories as the most memorable campaign format. These are the publisher’s reported preferences for that sample, not a detection test, a representative Dorset finding or a measured sales lift.
Our practical recommendation is to show the things customers need to judge: your actual product, the people doing the work, the premises and a clear account of what you provide. Use a real customer’s words only with their approval.
A smaller Dorset business can make that specific. Explain how you work and show the details a generic image or passage cannot provide. Use that detail in your photographs, product information and replies to common questions.
What should you ask your agency?
Five questions to put alongside the brief and quote.
Which parts of my work involve AI? Ask about research, drafts, images, reporting and any automated publishing. The answer should describe your work rather than just name a tool.
Who reviews and approves the output? Ask who checks subject knowledge, accuracy, brand fit and the finished work, and when you get to review it.
What does the fee cover? Agree the deliverables, reviews and responsibilities. If you are paying for time, ask how AI-assisted work is logged; if the fee is fixed, ask what is included.
What material can go into the tools? Agree how confidential briefs, customer information, unpublished designs and images of products or people will be handled. Ask what approval is needed before anything is uploaded or published.
How do you check facts and imagery? Ask about original sources, product details and permission to use the material. A polished draft still needs checking before it appears with your business’s name on it.
How we use AI at The Artist Studio
Here is the working approach we describe to clients.
We use AI for research and synthesis, for first drafts that get rewritten, for data and reporting work, and for generating options to choose between. For this update, we checked the numerical and Google-policy claims against the linked primary sources.
Our photography shows the real products, people and places we shoot. You can see examples in our photography and video work.
Writing in a client’s voice needs human editing and review. Ask us how those review stages fit your brief, and what we need you to approve.
Our proposals set out the project or monthly scope and fee. If AI changes the production process, the useful question is what that means for the agreed work, checking and timing. Agree any change to deliverables, timing or fee explicitly, rather than inferring it from the tools involved.
If you want to test any of that, ask us. We’d rather have the conversation than have you assume.
FAQ
Do marketing agencies use AI?
Many do. Forrester’s June 2026 study with the 4As found nine in ten US agencies surveyed used generative AI, and half used agentic AI for marketing execution. That is a US agency sample. Ask your agency which parts of the work AI touches and who reviews the output.
Should I pay less if my agency uses AI?
Not automatically. Check what you are buying, how time is charged where relevant, and what review and responsibility the fee covers. In Productive’s published findings from its survey of 180+ agencies, 27% had been asked for an AI-related price cut. That records requests in one sample, not what a fair fee should be.
Does AI-generated content hurt SEO?
AI use alone is not a ranking verdict. Google’s guidance calls for useful, accurate content and manual review. Its spam policies cover scaled content created to manipulate rankings. Human editing does not guarantee a ranking outcome.
Can customers tell when marketing content is AI-generated?
The research cited here does not establish a detection rate for your customers. Check whether the content represents the product accurately and gives people the information they need.
Should my agency tell me when it uses AI?
We recommend asking how AI is involved and agreeing your expectations in the brief or contract: permitted inputs, review, approval and any disclosure. A clear agreement is more useful than assuming everyone means the same thing by AI-assisted.
The Artist Studio is a full service digital agency on South Street in Sherborne, working with businesses across Dorset and Somerset. If you want a straight answer about how your marketing is actually being made, ask us.
The Artist Studio
The Old Mermaid, South Street, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 3LU
See how these principles fit into our marketing services, or explore One System, our client workspace for reports, content and collaboration.
