# AI and agencies Source: https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies Articles on AI in agencies: governance, shadow AI, data leakage, contracts, margins, hiring and what an AI-native agency looks like. [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The tell is what they've built](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-tell-is-what-theyve-built) Someone in Boston asked how to tell an agency that really operates differently with AI from one that mostly posts about it. The answer: look at what they've built. One agency turned itself around in three months. [Read More: The tell is what they've built](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-tell-is-what-theyve-built) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [A graphical treatment to distinguish AI-generated from human-created](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/a-graphical-treatment-to-distinguish-ai-generated-from-human-created) Icons that label AI content clearly and give people a way to identify human content. They are silly, they involve a really bad pun, and you are welcome to use them freely. [Read More: A graphical treatment to distinguish AI-generated from human-created](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/a-graphical-treatment-to-distinguish-ai-generated-from-human-created) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [How I built an AI version of Scale at Speed](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/how-i-built-ai-version-scale-speed) From a coffee app built on a rainy Saturday to Scale at Speed AI, distilled from the book, a 160,000-word course and terabytes of workshop video. [Read More: How I built an AI version of Scale at Speed](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/how-i-built-ai-version-scale-speed) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The margin question](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-margin-question) His agency got 35 per cent faster with AI and clients asked for lower prices. He repriced around outcomes instead. Margins went from 22 to 34 per cent. [Read More: The margin question](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-margin-question) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The pitch gap](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-pitch-gap) An agency lost a pitch to a rival offering half the timeline for the same scope. The rival had rebuilt around AI. The founder had not known the gap existed. [Read More: The pitch gap](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-pitch-gap) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The missing rung](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-missing-rung) AI automated the research and first drafts that used to teach juniors how to think. A creative director rebuilt junior roles around judgment instead of output. [Read More: The missing rung](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-missing-rung) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The scope problem](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-scope-problem) AI made the team 40 per cent faster, so they said yes to everything and margins dropped eleven points. Faster is only more profitable if you take back the time. [Read More: The scope problem](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-scope-problem) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [Measuring what works](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/measuring-what-works) Asked how she knew AI was working, a founder said she could feel it. Eight weeks of before-and-after tracking on three workflows turned that into evidence. [Read More: Measuring what works](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/measuring-what-works) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The native agency](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-native-agency) One founder rebuilt everything around AI: forty-two people to twenty-eight, same revenue, margins roughly doubled. AI as infrastructure rather than a tool. [Read More: The native agency](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-native-agency) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The AI hire](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-ai-hire) A new Head of AI spent three months on training sessions nobody used. Sitting with teams and fixing what took too long that week got them coming to him instead. [Read More: The AI hire](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-ai-hire) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The contract problem](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-contract-problem) A client sent an AI addendum and two weeks to sign it. A procurement exercise, not a confrontation, and it forced the governance work that was overdue anyway. [Read More: The contract problem](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-contract-problem) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [Data leakage](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/data-leakage) Eleven people, four AI tools, three teams, and nobody knew where client data went. Regulated-client data sat in a free-tier tool. Fixing it took two weeks. [Read More: Data leakage](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/data-leakage) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [Client value](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/client-value) She built a serious AI capability and pitched it as efficiency. Clients wanted to know what AI meant for their own business. The outward-facing answer wins. [Read More: Client value](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/client-value) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [Team buy-in](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/team-buy-in) Three agency AI rollouts quietly failed as people drifted back to old habits. The problem was ownership, not resistance. People implement what they design. [Read More: Team buy-in](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/team-buy-in) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [Knowing your level](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/knowing-your-level) Founders say their agency is at Level 2 or 3 on AI maturity. Ask about a legally reviewed policy, contract cover and data flows, and the answer is not yet. [Read More: Knowing your level](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/knowing-your-level) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [Shadow AI](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/shadow-ai) An eight-year financial services client was lost because a strategist used free ChatGPT under a 2019 NDA. Nobody had told her not to. No policy existed. [Read More: Shadow AI](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/shadow-ai) [AI and agencies](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/category/AI+and+agencies) ## [The governance gap](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-governance-gap) She thought her agency was at Governed on the AI maturity model. No written policy, no data map, 2022 contracts. Governed is where you can safely accelerate. [Read More: The governance gap](https://felixvelarde.com/articles/the-governance-gap) ## Let’s talk If you’re serious about building significant value, preparing for an exit, or executing a roll-up strategy, get in touch below. I’ll respond personally.