Agencies Face Identity Crisis: Trust Erodes Amidst AI, In-Housing & Output Trap

• Advertising agencies face an identity crisis, struggling to define their value as brands build in-house teams and AI/SaaS platforms handle execution.
• Experts like Soumitra Karnik and Mehul Gupta warn against agencies becoming mere execution partners, emphasizing the irreplaceable value of human judgment and strategy.
• The industry's rush to chase every trend has led to "factory-like thinking," prioritizing speed and scale over meaningful creative output.
• Trust between clients and agencies is eroding due to perceived excess costs, unclear value, and a shift towards transactional, output-based relationships.
• The future lies in agencies reclaiming their role as strategic "expert brains," focusing on judgment, cultural intelligence, and making fewer, better decisions.

Why It Matters: Agencies must reclaim their strategic core and human judgment to rebuild trust and thrive amidst technological shifts.