Marketing Agencies Urged To Pivot As Meta Moves Toward Fully Automated Advertising By 2026
Agencies that once focused on deliverables like social posts and Google Ads are now being challenged to step into a new role: strategic enablers (helping clients convert leads into customers).
With Meta announcing its ambition to fully automate advertising campaigns by 2026 using artificial intelligence, social media marketing agencies are quaking in their boots, and being urged to rethink their role in a fast-evolving digital landscape.
According to a recent Reuters report, Meta is investing heavily in AI systems that will plan, purchase, and optimise ad campaigns with minimal human input, generating 30-40% better results at 10% of the cost, which could potentially wipe out much of the creative industry around social. The announcement signals a dramatic acceleration toward a future where media buying, and ad creative are machine-led.
This shift is already being felt across the industry. AI tools like ChatGPT, Canva, and Meta's own Advantage+ are allowing small and mid-sized businesses to produce marketing content and run campaigns in-house, reducing their reliance on traditional agencies for execution.
'Clients no longer need an agency to write every post, design every banner, or set up every ad campaign,' said Rachel Alexander, founder of Alexanders, Christchurch's first digital marketing agency. 'They have Canva, ChatGPT, HeyGen, MidJourney & Meta automation. What they need now is someone to help them make sense of it all,' she said.
Agencies that once focused on deliverables like social posts and Google Ads are now being challenged to step into a new role: strategic enablers (helping clients convert leads into customers).
A recent YouTube vlog 'Meta just killed the creative industry: The 2026 Automation Apocalypse' by Julia McCoy, CEO at First Movers & AI thought leader, describes this well. 'Agencies must pivot from being tactical executors to strategic advisors, bringing clarity, structure, and prioritisation to an increasingly overwhelming landscape,' said McCoy.
'Business marketers need to think of their agency as a marketing generalist doctor: diagnosing weak points, recommending tailored treatments, and coaching internal teams through implementation,' said Alexander.
With many SMEs building internal marketing teams and experimenting with DIY tools, the opportunity for agencies lies in offering higher-value services such as sales enablement, CRM integration, AI content workflows, and conversion strategy.
'It's less about deliverables, more about direction. Less about content calendars, more about conversion journeys…The marketing agency of the future is less like a factory and more like a consultancy,' said McCoy.
Alexander said she is mindful, but not anxious, because we've always been a hybrid between a marketing consultancy and marketing agency.
For New Zealand agencies looking to adapt, this means embracing AI, not competing with it and reasserting their value as interpreters, integrators, and insight-driven advisors.
'AI has been disruptive technology but being agile is the key to success. It's helped us survive for 28 years. Time to pivot again!,' said Alexander.
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