Why "AI agency" isn't a category — it's a workflow
The market is pushing brands into a fake choice: traditional vs. AI agency. AI is a workflow, not a brand category.
In the last 18 months, marketing has created a new category: "AI agencies". Industry surveys ask how many clients are considering switching. Wrong question.
AI is not an agency category. It's a layer inside the workflow. Just like a decade ago nobody picked an "Excel agency" or "Photoshop agency". Software is a tool. The question isn't whether you use it. The question is whether you use it well.
At NiftyMinds, AI permeates almost every process — from research to performance optimisation. But no client hires us for AI. They hire us for the marketing thinking we accelerate with the machine.
When a salesperson tells you "we're an AI agency" — that's a red flag. It tells you about brand, not outcomes. Better questions: which parts of your workflow does AI speed up most? Who decides on quality? And how much of that saving goes into testing vs. margin?