December 26, 2025 | SIGN UP
Jim Cooper
DIGIDAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
As the media biz continues its headlong rush to adopt or create AI capabilities to cut costs while also scaling production, one thing is starting to become clear – the price tag.
As we reported this week, sticker shock is building when it comes to finding and retaining top human talent for agent oversight and building a working creative assembly line. According to an October Gartner survey of 400 global brand execs, 58% are using generative AI for content production. Unilever, for example, is at the vanguard of AI automation. But its present system, and this is giant Unilever we’re talking about, took more than a year to launch.
Summing up the current associated AI costs, Craig Elimeliah, chief creative officer, Code & Theory said: “AI [production] is the equivalent of building your own house instead of renting someone else’s." Read our most important AI coverage here each Friday ICYMI.
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