twisted loop launches new benchmark revealing UK agencies are “all in” on AI – but only 2% feel prepared
A new industry benchmark led by twisted loop has revealed that UK marketing agencies are rapidly adopting AI in day-to-day work, but the vast majority lack the structures, skills and operating models needed to keep pace with the accelerating technology curve.
Produced in partnership with research agency Mustard and media partner Prolific North, The State of AI Adoption in UK Agencies draws on insight from 53 professionals across the UK’s creative and marketing sectors.
Over half of respondents were founders, C-suite leaders or board members, with the remainder representing junior and mid-level teams. While participation spanned the UK, most respondents were based in the North and worked within small to mid-sized independent agencies.
The report provides one of the clearest benchmarks to date of how agencies are approaching AI – and exposes a widening gap between widespread experimentation and genuine organisational readiness.
Key findings
9 in 10 agency professionals now use AI, confirming adoption has gone mainstream
Only 2% feel “very prepared” for the pace of technological change
70% cite efficiency as their primary AI use case, yet just 17% have built bespoke tools, pointing to low differentiation
89% feel positive about AI, but two-thirds fear over-reliance and creative sameness as agencies lean on identical models
Employees are often pushing adoption faster than leadership direction, creating skills gaps, governance gaps and rising operational risk
Our analysis shows these patterns closely mirror the classic innovation adoption curve: around 10% slow adopters, 75–80% early adopters, and only 10–15% beginning to build true, durable AI capability.
“This data shows an industry leaning into AI with huge enthusiasm, but most agencies haven’t yet built the scaffolding they need around that momentum. People are learning fast and experimenting fast, but the structures, workflows and guardrails are lagging behind. The real differentiators now are AI fluency, workflow redesign and the ability to evaluate and direct AI. Agencies that treat this as an operating-model shift, not just a tooling exercise, will be the ones that gain a lasting advantage”
Survey respondents echoed this tension, describing AI adoption as “ad hoc” and warning that the pace of change is “sending everyone into a frenzy” without clearer internal guidance. While many cited faster, smoother operations, others raised concerns about creative dilution and junior talent becoming overly dependent on AI tools.
“What stands out in this dataset is the honesty. Agencies are clearly energised by AI’s potential, but they’re also very aware of the structural, creative and skills-based challenges that come with ithe difference.”
The readiness gap is accelerating
Twisted Loop warns that the gap between adoption and capability is likely to widen quickly. With global AI capital expenditure projected to reach $571bn by 2026, compute capacity expected to surge 1000x beyond GPT-3 levels, and autonomous AI agents forecast to deliver multi-hour workflows by mid-2026, many agencies risk being outpaced by the underlying technology curve.
Recommendations for agencies
The report outlines clear priorities based on maturity level:
Getting started: Build foundational AI fluency, establish basic governance, and create a simple use-case roadmap
Middle majority: Move from patching workflows with tools to designing a clear AI blueprint and developing lightweight internal agents
Early leaders: Avoid complacency by investing in data foundations, RAG pipelines, agentic architectures and scalable AI operating systems
As AI capability accelerates, the report concludes, uneven adoption is likely to translate rapidly into uneven competitiveness.
“twisted loop delivers AI value-accelerator programmes across all of these stages. We’re AI builders who think – a team of exited tech founders focused on ensuring SMEs, not just large corporates, can secure a real AI advantage.”
