AI & creativity: create more, or create better?

In the US, 81% of creatives have already published AI-generated content. But only 40% believe it improves both their efficiency and the quality of their work. That should cool down a few fans of the magic prompt!

In its 2026 report, based on a survey of 760 American professionals, Luma lays out the paradoxes of a creative revolution that is already well under way. And it asks brands, agencies and producers an essential question: now that everyone can create faster, how do you keep creating better?

AI has moved in. Art direction hasn’t handed over yet.

Adoption is massive, but trust remains measured: 62% of creatives fear relying too heavily on AI at the expense of their own creativity.

The paradox is delicious: teams have never had so many means to produce, and the value of human judgment has never been so strategic.

Because generating fifty options in a few minutes is impressive. Knowing which one deserves to exist is another story.

AI multiplies the possibilities. Talent makes the choices.

Six tools tested, three dropped. AI’s great casting call. Over twelve months, the professionals surveyed evaluated an average of 6.1 new tools, adopted 4.3 and dropped 2.9. And 52% of organisations still have no structured process to evaluate and approve these tools.

Welcome to the age of tool dating: you test, you get excited, you switch… and you start again.

Yet the most advanced players are not simply the ones collecting subscriptions. They know how to build AI into their ways of working, train their teams and give it a precise role. A major difference for agencies: performance will not come from the number of tools used, but from the way those tools serve a creative intent.

Agencies and advertisers: opposing views

55% of agency respondents expect fees to rise thanks to AI. But 53% of advertiser respondents plan to cut their agency spend thanks to their new in-house capabilities.

Same technology. Two visions of the future. And potentially a few lively negotiations!

For agencies, the conclusion is clear: selling production will no longer be enough. They will have to show what truly justifies their added value: strategy, audience understanding, storytelling, creative direction and command of execution.

AI can democratise the means of production. It does not automatically democratise good ideas.

From prompt to big show: entertainment changes scale

The study also shows that 78% of the most AI-advanced companies have already published videos mostly generated by AI, compared with only 11% of the least advanced.

But the most interesting part is not the technical feat.

The report cites the example of the studio OneDay, which brought a thirty-year-old concept to life with an 85-shot film. Before generating any images, the team worked on the characters, their stories and the visual universe with the original creators.

In other words, the script before the software. Intent before execution.

That is exactly where a new playground opens up for brands: imagining worlds, stories and entertainment experiences that used to be out of reach of their budgets.

As long as they don’t confuse production power with the power of imagination.

In short

AI does not mark the end of creativity. It reshuffles where its value lies.

For brands, the question is no longer just producing more, but creating content that deserves attention. For agencies, mastering the tools is no longer enough: they have to put them to work for a vision.

At New Tone Studio, we draw one conviction from this: the future belongs to creatives who can bring human intelligence, artificial intelligence and narrative intelligence into dialogue.

Because an AI can generate a thousand images. But a good story can, on its own, leave a lasting mark.