By Federico Soto Roland – Strategy, Digital & AI Director at NSB


There's something fairly hypocritical about the way we talk about artificial intelligence in creativity. We keep saying it "isn't here to replace anyone," that it's "just a tool," that it "amplifies talent."

Let's be honest: it does replace. It's already replacing.

Translators who once handled huge volumes now compete against models that solve 80% of the work in seconds. Quick-turnaround illustrators, stock photographers, basic retouchers, designers of adaptive assets… many of those tasks now require fewer people. In agencies too: we're doing more with less.

Denying it is just posturing… but it isn't a one-click job either.
And that's where the real tension begins.

More requests, more pressure, more expectations

The system was already stretched before AI, but AI came along to supercharge that demand.

According to a report by the U.S. agency Superside…

  • 80% of creative and marketing leaders say request volume is higher than last year.
  • 32% say it's "much higher."
  • 86% report their teams are at full capacity or over capacity.
  • 7 in 10 leaders admit they're burned out.


In other words: creativity was already at breaking point.

Now let's add the AI layer:

  • 96% believe it helps them move faster and handle more projects.
  • 95% believe it improves quality.
  • 93% believe it speeds up design.
  • 9 in 10 leaders expect to use it more this year.


And on the executive side:

  • 94% expect faster delivery.
  • 92% expect higher quality.
  • 79% of leaders feel direct pressure to adopt it.


The implicit equation is a heavy one: now that we have AI, we shouldn't just maintain the level, we should raise it… and do it in less time. In many ways this is true; in others, expectations are growing faster than our actual ability to adapt.

The myth of the magic button

There's an executive fantasy worth dismantling: the idea that AI is a magic layer sitting on top of the creative process.

But using it well takes three things:

1- Constant experimentation
The tools change every month: new models, capabilities that appear and disappear, and so on. Mastering that environment takes real time spent exploring and testing. We can produce and experiment at the same time, but it takes time.

2- Trial and error
A usable result can come out fast; an excellent one isn't always so automatic. Iterations, refinement, direction over the raw material the machine returns. Quality usually isn't in the first prompt. It's in the tenth adjustment.

3- Senior intervention
AI in the hands of a junior generates volume.
AI in hands with judgment generates impact and raises creative quality.
Without strong direction, the output is correct, slick… and forgettable.

What this means for agencies like NSB

For an agency like NSB, AI is a huge competitive advantage. It lets us produce with a quality and scale that were previously out of reach for certain budgets. It puts us on a level playing field with far larger structures. It democratizes production.

That's real.

But it's also real that:

  • It isn't instant.
  • It isn't automatic.
  • It doesn't have to be cheap.
  • It can't be led by someone without experience.

Today we do far more with less. Yes. But value creation still runs through the level of seniority brought to bear and the quality of the product delivered. As we've argued in another article, we no longer think in terms of "hours invested," but of "the expertise involved" and the "value delivered."

The uncomfortable truth

AI will keep replacing roles. It will redefine skills. It will shrink structures in certain areas. And that isn't necessarily bad: it's technological evolution. What's dangerous is thinking it also replaces the entire creative process.

What disappears is mechanical execution.
What becomes critical is direction.

If everyone can generate striking images in minutes, the difference isn't in the tool. It's in the idea. In the strategy. In knowing what not to do.

AI doesn't eliminate creativity. It forces it to be better.
And that, for now, isn't something you solve by pressing a button.