81% of creative professionals believe AI will enhance their work, with 71% expressing concerns about the need for regulation of this emerging technology, United Talent Agency (UTA) research reveals.

The report, titled AI Takes Center Stage: The Real-Time Impact of AI in Creative Media & Marketing, presented at the Cannes Lions festival highlighted a major shift in attitudes towards AI.

The majority (84%) now view AI positively, marking a significant change from the apprehensions last year.

John Kirk, chief strategy officer of Inspired Thinking Group, commented: “The demand for content is higher than ever and that falls on marketers to produce more content, often without more resources. Taking a tech-enabled, agile approach to content, supported by artificial intelligence, is the key to scaling asset delivery and meeting ever-growing demands.

“Marketers should be empowered by AI, and it’s encouraging to see the majority of the industry exploring how it can support them. However, for AI to be rolled out safely, it’s important to ensure that there’s a well-managed governance model in place to support content operations and reduce the risk and hesitancy for adoption. Platforms such as Storyteq, for example, use AI to streamline content creation through brand compliance to ensure all assets, regardless of market, meet brand guidelines.”

UTA’s report showed marketing creatives see the emerging technology as a way to “enhance” rather than “replace” human creativity.

84% are pursing new ideas because of AI, 75% report higher quality work and 69% view AI as the most impactful technology of their lifetime.

Main AI uses include idea generation (61%), enhancing images and audio (54%) and improving productivity (52%).

Joe Kessler, global head of UTA commented: “There has always been fear and uncertainty around new technology. Painters worried they would be replaced by photography, movies by theater, TV by movies. Instead, new art forms were born. Human creativity has always found a way, and this survey shows today’s creators are continuing that long tradition of molding technology to their advantage.”

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Sjuul van der Leeuw, CEO of Deployteq, part of Inspired Thinking Group, said: “AI is vital to improving the success of campaigns through data analysis and forecasting to assess what works and how to better engage a target audience. Leaning into innovation will unlock new possibilities for marketers, who can work hand-in-hand with AI tools, freeing them up to do what they do best, be creative.”

Despite these positive trends 71% of respondents advocated for increased regulation to address challenges such as protecting creative rights.