WPP cuts out the agency to help brands generate their own AI ads
As more companies start using AI to generate adverts and video content for next to no money WPP is being forced to rethink its business model.
Key takeaways
- WPP has appointed Cindy Rose to turn it around after it lost its crown as the world's biggest ad group to French rival Publicis last year and its shares more than halved this year.
- The company, which owns Ogilvy, AKQA and WPP Media, said it was the first of its peers to provide a range of integrated, AI-powered delivery models, including directly to clients.
- Rose, who took over from Mark Read last month, said WPP's creative and strategic talent would always be at the heart of what it did for the world's biggest brands, such as Coca-Cola.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2025) 'WPP cuts out the agency to help brands generate their own AI ads', 311 Institute, 6 November. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/wpp-cuts-out-the-agency-to-help-brands-generate-their-own-ai-ads/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
As we continue to see the rise and rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated content and synthetic media British ad group WPP said on Thursday it was letting brands access its AI-powered marketing platform to plan, create and publish their own campaigns.
WPP Open Pro, a new edition of its AI platform WPP Open, has been designed for smaller brands that do not use full-service agencies, it said, as well as to provide new capabilities to existing clients.
Advertising groups are facing the challenge of brands starting to use AI to do more of their own creative and planning work, reducing the fees they pay to agencies.
WPP has appointed Cindy Rose to turn it around after it lost its crown as the world's biggest ad group to French rival Publicis last year and its shares more than halved this year.
The company, which owns Ogilvy, AKQA and WPP Media, said it was the first of its peers to provide a range of integrated, AI-powered delivery models, including directly to clients.
Rose, who took over from Mark Read last month, said WPP's creative and strategic talent would always be at the heart of what it did for the world's biggest brands, such as Coca-Cola. But technology was fundamentally reshaping the industry, she said, and the new platform would put its AI capabilities into the hands of a much wider array of brands and businesses.
"This is about transforming how marketing is delivered, expanding our total addressable market, and giving more brands the tools they need to lead in the AI era," she said.
The platform will enable brands to create channel-specific ads in seconds, it said. For example, a coffee shop chain could combine brand-approved imagery with content generated by AI to create a campaign for a new store opening. The ad could then be dropped into WPP's Open Media Studio to be published or it could be published directly to major platforms, WPP said.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
As more companies start using AI to generate adverts and video content for next to no money WPP is being forced to rethink its business model.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 15-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder and Futurist in Chief of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
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Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 6 November 2025. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2025). WPP cuts out the agency to help brands generate their own AI ads. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/wpp-cuts-out-the-agency-to-help-brands-generate-their-own-ai-ads/
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