April 7, 2026
If recruitment is the canary in the coalmine of business trends, then we’ve been wheezing in the dark for a while now.
We feel it first. When hiring slows, budgets shrink, priorities shift, we hear it in the briefs that don’t land, in the roles that suddenly go cold, and in the clients who start asking very different questions than they did a year ago.
So, here’s our honest take on what we’re seeing right now in the world of marketing hiring and where SME agencies might want to focus before the AI whirlwind turns into a full-blown talent storm.
Short answer: Yes.
Longer answer: Yes, but maybe not always in the way you think.
AI’s not replacing marketers en masse, after all we still need people to operate it. But it is reshaping what clients expect from marketers and what agencies expect from each other. Automations are gobbling up the “doing” work (scheduling, copy drafts, reporting, basic ad builds), which means the humans left standing need to be thinkers, storytellers, translators, analysts, and relationship brokers.
In other words: specialists who can spot what AI misses. And that’s what’s becoming hard to hire.
So, in unison, AI hasn’t just changed how agencies operate, it’s changed how marketers think about their careers. We’re having some honest conversations with talent who are either looking sideways, or straight-up asking: “Is there still a future for me in agency life?”
So, we thought we’d share a few thoughts, questions, and patterns we’re seeing emerge from the perspective of a recruitment team speaking to hundreds of marketers every month.
This is something we get asked a lot. And honestly? Some of the best marketers we know have ghosted agency life completely.
Some have gone freelance. Others have drifted brand-side, (brands can do so much more in-house now with the help of AI.) Some people burned out and are running yoga retreats in Portugal. And a few, are riding out the storm. In many cases the love's gone. The work’s too reactive. The reward doesn’t match the stress.
Agencies are feeling it. Talent pools are getting shallower just as client expectations are climbing. We’re seeing fewer of the right applications for agency roles, especially from midweight-to-senior candidates who’ve simply had enough of the hamster wheel.
Quite a few, actually and they’re often offering a smoother ride.
These businesses are scaling fast and hiring marketers who can help them tell better stories. They're hoovering up strategic minds from agencies who want more control, better budgets, and the chance to build rather than just pitch.
These businesses need marketers to help tell their story in plain English. The “what” might be technical, but the “why” has to land with humans.
Roles: Product marketing, growth leads, demand gen, content that doesn’t read like it was written by ChatGPT-3 with a hangover.
Brands are investing in proper sustainability comms. The ones doing it credibly (and legally) need marketers who know their carbon from their comms. Agencies with sector experience here are very busy and in-house teams are luring their talent.
ESG is no longer a buzzword, it’s compliance and increasingly, a competitive advantage. But many brands still don’t know how to communicate it properly.
If you’ve got marketing talent who can make the complex feel credible (without the virtue-signalling dross), you’re onto something.
Is sustainability still growing?
Yes, though more cautiously. Some firms are still box-ticking, others are embedding it fully. The talent who know which is which and craft strategy accordingly? Gold dust.
This sector’s been growing steadily for years, and now, with AI tools entering highly regulated spaces, marketers who can navigate compliance and clarity are in demand. Especially from agencies who understand nuance, not just noise.
Human-first, regulated sectors need marketing that balances trust with clarity. We’re seeing a lot of demand here, especially for those who’ve worked with medical clients before.
Not just “performance marketing” anymore. It’s insight-led everything.
People who can read the numbers and actually know what to do with them are getting hired fast and paid well.
Have you lost anyone to these sectors recently?
Let’s not sugar-coat it. Some roles are being eaten alive by automation.
Junior copywriters, SEO execs, media buyers, digital coordinators… If a role involves pattern-based repetition, AI is coming for it and doing a decent job, fast. That’s not to say those roles are dead, but agencies are hiring fewer of them. The ones that survive are using AI to supercharge output, not compete with it.
Creative & Strategic Leads – Thinking, insight, taste… can’t be automated. Original thinkers who can cut through AI sludge.
Performance & Data Analysts – But only the ones who interpret, not just report.
Senior Client Services – Trusted relationship-builders who can navigate messy briefs, impatient clients and cross-channel complexity.
Brand & Narrative Strategists – Storytelling is still the ace in the pack.
Community & Experience Marketing – Events, partnerships, culture-building - AI doesn’t do human connection well (yet).
Marketing Ops & MarTech Wranglers – People who glue the tech stack together and make sure the right things go out at the right time.
Do you agree? Or are you finding success in places others aren’t?
We're seeing:
Great marketers who could work agency-side, opting out.
Agencies struggling to recruit who they really want unless they flex on salary, remote working, or job design.
More interest in purpose-led briefs, especially in climate, AI, healthcare.
Skills gaps growing in data storytelling, AI tools, and stakeholder comms.
We’re also seeing agencies who are thriving: ones who’ve figured out their niche, communicated clearly, and invested in hiring thinkers, not just doers.
So here’s the million-pound question:
Where should agencies focus if they want to grow and attract great people in 2025?
Here’s what we’re telling clients (and asking ourselves):
Double Down on Human Value
AI’s great at speed and scale, but humans still win at originality, empathy, and judgment. Prioritise roles that require those things. And make them attractive ones to do.
Pitch the Agency Proposition Better
If you want to tempt top people back in, be clear about why agency life is worth it. Is it the variety? The culture? The creative freedom? Don’t assume they still believe the sell.
Upweight Strategic, Brand, and Analytics Roles
Campaign planners, performance analysts, creative strategists, these are the people making the biggest difference. They’re also the hardest to find.
Tap Into the Right Sectors
There’s momentum in AI, healthcare, sustainability and SaaS. If your agency has experience here or wants it, build your recruitment around it.
Promote Learning + AI Fluency
We’re seeing candidates choose roles based on how well they’ll be able to keep learning. And increasingly, that includes how they can use AI in their job, not just survive it.
We’ll be honest: most traditional methods are getting patchy. Job boards are noisy. LinkedIn is full of ghost profiles. Inboxes are overflowing with AI-generated CVs that look great but fall apart when you talk to the person.
That’s why we’re doubling down on how we work too.
We’re vetting harder.
We’re using our network more than our database.
We’re having real conversations instead of relying on keyword matching.
We’re listening carefully to the people who aren’t actively looking, because they’re often the ones worth moving.
Maybe this sounds familiar. Maybe it doesn’t. Maybe your agency’s thriving and you’re booked out until 2026. If so, hats off to you - genuinely.
But if you’re sensing something’s shifting and not sure how to respond, you’re not alone. Right now, our money's on the agencies leaning into what only humans can do and hiring accordingly.
Not completely — but it’s changing what good marketing looks like. The humans left need to think, not just do.
Junior SEO, media buyers, and basic copy roles. If a task can be automated, it probably is.
Strategists, analysts, brand thinkers, client leads. The ones who do what AI can’t.
Freelance. In-house. Into tech, SaaS, green sectors, healthcare — anywhere with more purpose or balance.
Because the best people are cautious, busy, or burned out. And they're being picky.
Sharpen your offer. Focus on human value. And hire for thinking, not just delivery.
