AI will put pressure on agency pricing, says WPP CEO Cindy Rose

Artificial intelligence is set to reshape agency economics, with clients increasingly expecting agencies to pass on efficiency benefits generated by AI tools, according to WPP CEO Cindy Rose.Speaking during WPP's H1 2026 earnings call, Rose said AI presents both risks and opportunities for marketing services companies, but acknowledged that the technology could create short-term pricing pressure across the industry as brands demand greater efficiency from agency partners."I think we are going to see some short-term deflationary impact on pricing as AI tooling drives productivity gains and reduces our cost to serve. Our clients are going to expect us to pass those gains on to them," Rose said.Despite that pressure, she argued that AI ultimately represents a growth opportunity rather than a threat, as agencies can use efficiency gains to help clients reinvest in innovation, transformation and new growth initiatives.Rose's comments come as global advertising holding companies race to embed artificial intelligence into core operations. Over the past year, agencies have accelerated investments in generative AI, automation, data platforms and content production tools to reduce costs and improve campaign effectiveness. Advertisers, meanwhile, have become more focused on measurable outcomes and productivity gains, creating new pressure on traditional agency pricing models.WPP has made AI a central pillar of its Elevate28 transformation strategy through WPP Open, its proprietary marketing platform. During the earnings call, Rose highlighted expanded partnerships with Google, Adobe, Meta, AWS and Microsoft, all of which are being integrated into the platform to deliver advanced AI capabilities to clients.The company said these partnerships are designed to simplify access to emerging technologies while helping marketers avoid fragmented technology stacks.Among the recent developments, WPP expanded its collaboration with Google DeepMind to develop predictive cultural intelligence tools, integrated Adobe Firefly Foundry into WPP Open, became the first agency partner to pilot Meta's latest Creative Intelligence offering and secured early access to Microsoft's MAI-Image-2 model. The company has also entered into a multi-year strategic collaboration with AWS focused on scaling agentic AI solutions for enterprise clients.The company's AI strategy extends beyond productivity and content creation. Rose said data ownership is becoming one of the most important issues in the marketing ecosystem as brands seek greater control over customer intelligence.According to WPP, its acquisition of InfoSum and its integration into WPP Open allows clients to connect and analyse data without moving customer information into third-party environments. The approach, Rose said, has become an increasingly important feature of client pitches and a key differentiator for the company."We believe our clients own and control their data and intelligence. Full stop," Rose said, adding that trust and data control are becoming critical considerations as AI adoption accelerates across the advertising industry.