Agency Strategic Planning in the AI Era: Where to Start
Many agencies don't have a strategic plan at all, and many others have a version of one. That's the real starting point for AI planning, ahead of any tool decision. Build a simple plan on a page first, then make AI part of it, along with the change your team needs to reach your vision.
Agencies make strategy for a living: Positioning, go-to-market plans, messaging, roadmaps. When we ask agencies about their own strategic plans, sometimes the room goes quiet and people start shifting in their seats a bit.
That isn't a criticism. In fact I think we can all relate! Most great agencies put the client work first, then worry about their own oxygen mask. For some, a plan lives in a busy founder's brain. But as budgeting season arrives and AI is on every agenda, that gap gets harder to ignore.
Why don't more agencies have a strategic plan?
Mostly because they're busy, and because planning is easy to push behind whatever is due Friday. It's not unique to agencies either. Gallup found that 71% of business owners say they have no business plan.
If that sounds familiar, you're in good company.
What does a strategic plan for an agency include?
We come from the CPG world, so strategic planning is second nature to us. The plan on a page we use is a close cousin of the classic OGSM, with tactics added, so we call it OGSTM.
Objectives: the big outcomes that get you there.
Goals: specific, measurable targets.
Strategies: how you'll win.
Tactics: what you'll actually do.
Metrics: how you'll know it's working.
Then comes our favorite question: what needs to be true? What skills, workflows, client relationships, and ways of working have to be in place for the plan to work? Answering that question successfully turns strategic intent into successful growth.
What if you’ve tried EOS, OKRs, or something else?
Then you're ahead of many, and keep doing what works. Plenty of agency leaders have tried EOS or OKRs, or have a vision statement and a revenue goal that don't quite connect. The goal isn't to replace what you've got. It's to make sure your vision, goals, and day-to-day work ladder up, and that everyone on the team can see how.
We typically see agencies in one of three stages:
No real plan yet. Start with a simple plan on a page. It doesn't need to be long, just clear.
Pieces of a plan. Connect them. Align the vision, goals, and work, and fill the gaps.
A solid plan, but unclear where AI fits. Treat AI as an integrated part of the plan, not a bolt-on side project.
Where does AI fit in a strategic plan?
AI should be integrated thoughtfully across your strategic plan, while keeping the right human-in-the-loop guidance. Operationally, AI adds capacity and speed, helping teams transform workflows and speed up certain processes or tactics. AI shows up as a critical enabler for growth. However, regardless of where you are on the AI adoption journey, given the fast pace of ongoing change, your team likely still needs skills, guardrails, and room to learn. We think of it as mindset before toolset, and design before deploy.
The research backs up planning AI in. In a June 2026 study of 551 senior leaders, Info-Tech found that organizations with a dedicated, governed AI strategy report measurable impact 60% of the time, versus 20% for those with no active strategy. Thomson Reuters’ 2026 Future of Professionals report found a similar gap: where a clear AI strategy is in place, 66% of professionals say AI is meeting or exceeding expectations, compared with 22% where there is none.
Bain puts it bluntly: the most expensive mistake in AI is automating a broken process. Its research finds that companies that bolt AI onto existing work capture only a sliver of the value, while those that redesign the work around AI capture the real gains. For an agency, that might mean rethinking how a brief moves from intake to first draft to client review, not just handing the team a new tool.
Change is the piece most teams underestimate and underfund. Prosci reports that only 37% of organizations invest significantly in change management during AI implementation.
What should you budget for?
Think in four buckets.
Plan: time to build or connect your strategy (with AI in the conversation from the start).
Enable: tools, guardrails, and governance.
Change: training, time, and change management support so new habits stick.
Measure & Reinvest: define your success metrics and how your reclaimed capacity will help you fuel your growth and your goals.
Does planning for AI mean spending more?
Not if you plan it well. One 2026 survey of agency leaders found that 61% still book AI as a cost of doing business and only 20% raised their rates. 27% have had a client ask for an "AI discount," however, so pricing pressure is ramping up on the traditional agency model. Without a plan, AI becomes a cost you absorb and a conversation you lose.
With a plan, it's a new way to think about the value of your production and operations work: faster turnarounds, sharper thinking, more time for strategy and creative. Some of that gain funds the training and change, some goes back to clients as better work, and some gives your people time to do what they do best. It also makes you a better partner, because your clients are asking the same planning questions.
Questions to bring to your planning session
Where do we want the agency to be in three years?
What do we have today (vision, SMART goals, a framework), and what's missing?
What needs to be true for us to get there?
Where can AI speed things up or change how we work, and where does human judgment stay front and center?
What will our people need to make the change stick, and where does the reclaimed capacity go?
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a strategic plan before an AI strategy?
Yes, even a simple one. Better still, build them together, because AI is part of how you'll deliver the plan.
What if we already use EOS or OKRs?
Keep them if they work for you. We build on what you have and fill the gaps between vision, goals, and the work.
What is OGSM?
A planning framework commonly used by leading CPG companies: Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Measures. We add Tactics, so we call ours OGSTM.
How long does this take?
A first plan on a page can come together in a few focused working sessions.
If you're heading into planning and want a thought partner, we'd love to help. We can start wherever you are. Book some time with us here!
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