Generative AI is beginning to have a “significant impact” for advertisers, according to a new study from UK trade body ISBA, with almost all (99 percent) of the UK advertisers surveyed saying they have started their GenAI journey.
The organisation surveyed 200 respondents from brands, predominantly in marketing, media and procurement roles. The results found high levels of adoption of GenAI tools, with almost two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents now using GenAI at work.
As a result, agency relationships are changing, according to the survey, particularly when it comes to content production and creative agencies. In terms of content production, 63 percent of respondents said they have seen some or significant change in their agency relationships over the past 12 months, while 49 percent saw some or significant change in their relationships with creative agencies. Media has been less affected over the past year, but the level of reported impact was still significant, with 42 percent seeing some or significant change.
The journey so far
While the results showed high adoption of GenAI, the report found that most advertisers are still in the early stages of their AI journeys. More than half (57 percent) of respondents are either exploring or experimenting with the technology, while 20 percent are in the launch stage, up from 18 percent in 2025. Meanwhile the proportion who are scaling their GenAI remains at 18 percent, the same as last year.
When asked about the barriers that are stopping GenAI from delivering greater benefits to their organisations, governance, creative quality and adoption were cited as the most prevalent obstacles, particularly before the tools go live. Once they are up and running, measurement also becomes a major hurdle. For tech that is live, creative quality (20 percent), governance (17 percent), measurement (15 percent) and skills (15 percent) were cited as the biggest barriers.
“The story right now is of some brands adopting and setting the pace, while others are still working to understand how they govern the technology and deploy it to best effect,” said Mark Given, ISBA President and Chief Technology, Data & Marketing Officer at Sainsbury’s. “But while AI is a powerful enabler, its success depends on people. The creativity, judgement and expertise of marketers remain essential to unlocking its full potential and using it responsibly.”
Efficiencies, effectiveness and ethics
The research also looked at the governance frameworks in place at brands to regulate their use of GenAI. Among those companies with policies in place, the most common ethical considerations included in those policies were IP and copyright infringement (75 percent), AI labelling and transparency (68 percent), and bias and discrimination (63 percent). Somewhat concerningly, environmental impacts and workforce displacement were much lower considerations, included in 37 percent and 20 percent of policies, respectively.
Another issue raised by the report was the ongoing focus on efficiency among UK advertisers, rather than effectiveness. More than three-quarters (76 percent) of respondents said efficiency was the primary focus of their company’s GenAI strategy, up from 65 percent in 2025, while those focusing on effectiveness declined from 35 percent to 24 percent. The report also found that those focused on effectiveness saw greater business impact from their GenAI strategy, with 25 percent of effectiveness-led firms reporting significant or transformational impact, compared with 11 percent among efficiency-led businesses.
“Delivering the effective marketing of the future depends on moving from experimenting with Gen AI, to launching and then working with it at scale,” said Mark Given. “The potential and possibility is incredibly exciting and will be won by those organisations that equip their people with the skills and confidence to embrace, think and learn with these new tools.”
The findings will also be explored at ISBA’s Gen AI Survey Results 2026 webinar on Thursday 23 July.
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