Agency Business #64: Why AI is forcing agencies and clients to rethink how they work together, with BCG's Janet Balis
Mar 30, 2026
Janet Balis, a BCG managing director who advises CMOs and agencies on AI and growth, explains why AI demands new operating models and partnerships. She discusses where work should sit between agencies and in-house teams. She urges agencies to design flexible, account-specific models that align creative, media, and technology.
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AI Is Bigger Than Efficiency
- Agencies and clients are thinking too small by treating AI mainly as a cost-saving or efficiency play.
- Janet Balis argues the bigger opportunity is to rethink operating models, partnerships, and growth to create and share dramatic business outcomes.
Design Bespoke Account Level AI Solutions
- Meet clients where they are instead of pushing scaled products; design bespoke ways to dovetail agency and client capabilities.
- Build value together on a per-account basis and share that value under aligned commercial structures.
Scale Platforms Need Bespoke Deployment
- Holding-company scale tech bets make sense but must be deployed in bespoke ways.
- Use the network effect of scaled platforms while tailoring deployment to different client objectives across accounts.