The Agency AI Conference
Thursday 16th October 2025 – 1.30pm to 5pm
The British Library, London
• Get inspired to deploy AI in your agency
• Learn how other agencies are using AI to help their clients and stand out
• Discover new ideas to improve your creative workflows
AI Isn’t the Future. It’s Already Your Colleague.
At least … it should be.
The days of only just getting to grips with prompting ChatGPT for your shopping list are over. It’s in your Slack threads, your client decks, and even your job descriptions. It’s changing how we think about headcount, how we structure teams, and the services we offer as agencies.
Everyone’s suddenly AI-powered, and hundreds of tools are launched by the second. So, how are you supposed to keep up – and also keep your agency focused?
Here’s what we’re hearing:
- “We’re using AI in our marketing, but it’s a bit here and there, it’s not joined up or integrated at all and we don’t know how to navigate that.”
- “AI is just so broad, there are so many tools out there and not enough time to go through them all.”
- “There’s no need to go to a front-end website if AI agents are talking to one another.”
- “The team are a bit sceptical about AI and not sure what they can use it for.”
- “AI is educating clients in a way that I never thought possible. They just think everything can be done by AI. You sit with them and go, ‘You do realise it’s shit? It’s all shit at the moment’.”
Agencies are caught in a strange position: trying to adopt AI meaningfully, but without falling for unnecessary hype. Trying to build something useful, without adding more complexity.
At The Robots Are Coming, we’re bringing together people who’ve been through this mess and lived to tell the tale. This is a chance to regroup and get some clarity on the implementation of AI.
What to Expect:
- Real AI tools in action: We’ll demo emerging AI tools and spotlight how agencies are actually using them – not just playing around. Hear from the experts that have found success in them and sing their praises.
- From “Let’s try it” to “Here’s what we’ve built”: Hear honest stories from agency leaders who’ve embedded AI in their ops, creative, and delivery, and seen real growth as a result.
- Guidance navigating the tyranny of choice: When every AI tool is heralded as a silver bullet, how do you pick the ones that actually fit your needs, and are actually worth your time? Hear how others are curating small-but-mighty AI stacks that work with their teams, rather than against them.
Stop Winging It: Why AI Needs Strategy, Not Just Experiments
“Agencies are winging it with AI – and that’s a problem,” says Peter Czapp.
In January, BenchPress data showed that 95% of agencies were already using AI. But here’s the catch: only half have run any training with their teams, and just a third have written an internal policy. “Agencies are dabbling with this transformative technology. Instead, they should be thinking bigger” Peter warns.
For him, this is the crux: AI isn’t a toy, it’s a strategic shift. Agencies that treat it seriously, by embedding it across the whole business, are already seeing results. In consultancy research, those who used AI everywhere saw 9% higher margins than their peers. But that first-mover advantage won’t last forever.
Peter’s session will challenge agencies to stop dabbling, and start making deliberate choices:
- Decide your AI strategy – is it about efficiency, creativity, or market positioning?
- Train your team and update policies.
- Get ahead before clients, regulators, or competitors force your hand.
“Stop winging it,” Peter insists. “This is too big an opportunity, with too many risks, to leave to chance. The agencies that act decisively now will be the ones that thrive.”
The Art of the Possible: An AI State of the Nation
“When I demoed our voice agent live, the room broke into applause: people couldn’t believe it was real.”
Ann Stanley has been deep in the trenches of AI for the past year for Annica Digital, building tools that are already transforming how her agency – and her clients – work. Now, she’s pulling back the curtain on what’s here right now, and what’s to come.
She’ll show you her AI agent marketplace, created with “vibe coding” – and explain how it went from idea to working product in under a year. You’ll see how her team uses it internally, and how it’s already creating new products for clients.
But the real ‘wake-up’ moment? A live voice agent demo. You’ll hear an AI assistant answer the phone, check stock in a live database, and handle the call just like a human. “It’s an eye-opener,” Ann says. “People realise, ‘Oh my God, this is actually possible’.”
Ann will explore:
- What the newest developments are in the constantly moving AI treadmill.
- How to build an AI agent marketplace from scratch, and how agencies can use it today.
- How AI agents are already transforming customer service – with a live demo!
“We’ve been working on this full time for a year,” says Ann. “If you want your agency to be ready in 12 months, you have to start learning now.”
n8n Workshop: Build Your First AI Agent
“Most people think building AI agents takes weeks of coding – but with n8n, you can stitch it together in minutes,” says Scott Bowler, founder of Clear.
In this session, Scott won’t just talk theory. You’ll build your first working AI agent – live, from scratch – using n8n. The agent will connect to a chat interface, perform tasks, and even lay the groundwork for future voice integration using tools like ElevenLabs.
“You can plug it into tools you already use – like Slack, Google Calendar, and CRMs – and suddenly your AI agent can take action in the real world,” explains Scott. “That’s when it clicks.”
Scott isn’t new to automation or AI. He’s a programmer with over 22 years of experience, and has been using n8n since 2021. In 2024 alone, his work helped businesses save over one million hours through smart automation and AI workflows.
He’s also the creator of Clear, an AI Management System that helps agencies safely adopt, scale, and govern artificial intelligence across their teams. “The real challenge isn’t the tech,” he says, “it’s making AI stick – aligning it with strategy, building buy-in, and keeping it compliant.”
At The Robots Are Coming, Scott is giving you a hands-on glimpse of that future. No jargon, no fluff – just practical AI you can build yourself, even without a technical background.
“This isn’t sci-fi anymore. You’ll leave the room with an agent you built yourself – and a blueprint for what comes next.”
Please bring a laptop along to get the most from this session!
How AI Video Generation Expands Your Creative Possibilities
“If you wanted a stadium full of people floating in space, that would have cost hundreds of thousands of pounds. But now you can do it in minutes all yourself,” says James Hilditch, founder of BearJam.
But while the tools make the impossible possible, James insists they’re not a magic button. In this session, he takes you behind the scenes of a fully generative AI video created for a major brand’s 80th anniversary — from concept to final cut.
You’ll see the sheer volume of work it took to get there: generating 500+ images to find the one that worked, building consistent characters across scenes, injecting brand assets, and stitching it all into a compelling story.
“It’s not just about knowing the tools, it’s about curating them, understanding production, and making sure the creative idea still leads,” James explains. Along the way, he’ll tackle the big questions agencies have about AI video: copyright, pricing, consistency, and when it’s worth the effort.
In this session, James will be joined by Trey Farley, Creative Lead at BearJam, where they will discuss how a recent project brief was taken to the next level with AI platforms.
Whether you’re curious, cautious, or already experimenting, this is your chance to see exactly what’s possible – and what to watch out for – when AI becomes your new production department.
The Cyborg Approach: How Humans and AI Work Together
“The medium-term future isn’t robots — it’s cyborgs.”
This is Ben Morris’ prediction.
Ben’s team at Deazy, a software development platform, has been experimenting with AI in both client delivery and internal operations — and the results are remarkable.
In one project, a task scoped as four weeks of development was completed in just three mornings by an AI-assisted developer. Internally, they’ve automated enough tasks to save the equivalent of a full-time salary every year, with more on the way.
But here’s the catch: these wins only happen when humans are strategically placed at the riskiest, most nuanced points in the process.
Ben calls this the ‘cyborg’ model — AI handles the repeatable, slow parts, while people step in to ensure accuracy, context, and quality. From generating statements of work to reviewing legal contracts, this approach is saving weeks of time annually without sacrificing trust.
At The Robots Are Coming, Ben will share Deazy’s best case studies, the mistakes they’ve learned from, and a perspective of where AI is genuinely ready to deliver value today.or brand’s 80th anniversary — from concept to final cut.
You’ll see the sheer volume of work it took to get there: generating 500+ images to find the one that worked, building consistent characters across scenes, injecting brand assets, and stitching it all into a compelling story.
“It’s not just about knowing the tools, it’s about curating them, understanding production, and making sure the creative idea still leads,” James explains. Along the way, he’ll tackle the big questions agencies have about AI video: copyright, pricing, consistency, and when it’s worth the effort.
Whether you’re curious, cautious, or already experimenting, this is your chance to see exactly what’s possible – and what to watch out for – when AI becomes your new production department.
How AI Video Generation Expands Your Creative Possibilities
“AI should be more like your EA than your creative director,” says Lewis Wilkins, Strategy Director at Future Strategy Club. “It’s still primitive – useful, but not the one making your big creative calls.”
When Future Strategy Club launched their AI white paper in May, they didn’t expect the findings to hold forever. In fact, they celebrate how quickly parts of it have already gone out of date. “It probably changed a few days after being published,” Lewis says. “That’s the crazy thing about AI right now.”
This constant churn is exactly why authenticity matters more than ever. With agencies flooding the market with AI-scraped outreach and automated ‘personal’ messages, Lewis believes the winners will be the ones who keep their own voice intact. “You can spot the generic stuff a mile off – and so can your clients.”
In this session, Lewis will share how Future Strategy’s white paper sparks genuine conversations about AI, the findings from their research, and how they balance enthusiasm for new tools with a healthy scepticism about what’s actually worth automating.
If you’re wrestling with how to bring AI into your work without losing the human spark that makes people listen, this talk will show you how to keep it real – even as the tech changes by the week.
Meet other people improving how their agency runs
The Robots Are Coming is an afternoon that will help you get inspired, and meet other agency process and operations people that you can learn from.
We blend interactive talks and group discussion.
- We dot you around the venue so you can interact – and we mix up the groups so you meet different people.
- We poll you before the event to see what you want to talk about.
- We make sure all the talks are original and interesting. We facilitate questions and reflections throughout.
It’s aimed at agency leaders and their AI leaders – but anybody can come.
- Our venue is the Knowledge Centre at The British Library. We have the entire building, so you will explore the venue interacting with different agency leaders. We mix up the groups so you meet different people.
- We poll you before the event to see what you want to talk about.
- We make sure all the talks are original and interesting. We facilitate questions and reflections throughout.
Five Rooms of Learning and Inspiration
The Robots are Coming – FAQs 🤖
Q: What actually happens on the day?
We start the event sharp at 1.30pm, so try to arrive by 1.15pm.
The afternoon’s format is pretty simple: you will spend some time hearing from guests with interesting stories that you can learn from, and you will also spend some time in small groups discussing your journey with like-minded agency leaders.
The event is hosted by Agency Hackers facilitators who make sure that everybody with something interesting to say gets heard. (We poll attendees before the event, so we know who to ‘pick on’ on the day.)
We will serve tea, coffee and a great lunch to keep you going throughout the day.
Q: Who will I hear from? Who are the speakers?
The people you’ll hear from are all agency leaders with interesting stories to tell about agency process or operations.
We also decide who to spotlight based on the information we capture in the weeks before. (Look out for our emails!)
We will publish the line-up a few weeks before, but mostly we hope that you will trust us to select interesting folk from our audience. We find that the people who choose to attend our events are overwhelmingly on fascinating journeys that will resonate with you.
Also, the ‘talks’ aren’t really linear presentations. They’re more like structured case studies, with lots of questions and reflections from the audience.
You could potentially call them ‘fireside chats’, but these are not rambling cosy conversations. They are planned and structured . We put a lot of work into researching our guests, out of respect for your time.
Q: Who can attend?
This event is mainly for agency leaders and operations leaders – but it’s potentially of interest to anybody interested in making their agency run letter.
Basically, anybody can attend if you think it looks up your street.
