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Last week gave us a pretty clear snapshot of where the market actually is and what agencies are finding challenging right now.
We ran four in-person AI sessions across Melbourne and Sydney, caught up with a number of clients, and had part of our Philippines team over.
Nothing overly structured, but a lot of time in rooms with agency owners and consultants talking about what’s actually changing.
A few patterns stood out pretty quickly.
Most people already have access to AI. ChatGPT, note takers, sourcing tools, CRM add-ons.
That part isn’t the issue anymore. What’s missing is how it actually fits into the way teams operate day to day.
Almost every group said the same thing:
“We’re using it a bit, but it’s not really changing much.” And that’s accurate.
What we’re seeing is:
So it feels like progress, but output doesn’t really move. The teams getting real value are doing something slightly different.
They’re not more advanced. They’re just more deliberate. They’ve stepped back and looked at:
Then they’ve built AI into those parts of the workflow. Not everywhere. Just the right places. That’s the shift.
From “using AI” to “changing how the desk runs”
For leaders, it’s not about doing new things. It’s improving what’s already happening.
For consultants, it’s more about consistency and speed.
What used to take a few hours now takes a fraction of the time. But more importantly, the starting point is better.
Which makes everything downstream easier.
The bigger shift. If you break the role down, most of it is still repetition.
None of it is difficult. It just takes time. That’s where AI is doing some of the heavy lifting. And it’s moving quickly.
From what we’re seeing, a large portion of that work is already being assisted or automated.
Over the next 6 to 12 months, that will only accelerate. Which means the role itself starts to shift.
Less time on process. More time on influence. That’s the part that doesn’t go away.
If AI is saving time, it has to show up somewhere
This was probably the most important point from the week. Saving time doesn’t matter on its own.
If AI gives you back 10 to 15 hours a week, the question is:
What happens next?
Because if none of that changes, nothing’s actually improved.
The opportunity isn’t just efficiency. It’s capacity. And how that capacity gets used is what separates teams.
At the end of the day, all of this only matters if it improves output.
If time is saved: What happens to activity? If activity goes up: What happens to billings?
If you want a quick sense check on your billings and how they compare to your competitors, we’ve been pointing people to our Billings Calculator.
It takes less than a minute and gives you an instant comparison of where your billings sit.
It’s a simple way to put some numbers behind the conversation, especially heading into a new quarter.
You’ll be able to see if you’re:
We had part of the Philippines team over this quarter and honestly, it was one of the highlights.
The goal wasn’t just to get work done. We wanted them to experience Melbourne and Sydney as well, so we made time for that alongside everything else.
Redwood forest, the zoo, Sydney harbour. One of the team had her birthday while she was here, which turned into a full Bohemian Rhapsody singalong at a piano bar!
They wrapped up their trip joining us for our end of Quarter Agency Owner BBQ with clients, which was a nice way to finish it off. Good mix of clients, team, and just a relaxed setting. In between that, we had client sessions, internal planning, and time working side by side.
And when you spend time like that together, offshore doesn’t really feel like offshore.
It just feels like one team.
A lot packed in, but the kind of week where you step back and realise how lucky you are to work in such an awesome industry with a gorgeous team all pushing in the same direction!
If you’d like to talk through how we might be able to help you and your team, just reach out! Always happy to have a chat 😉
Get access to 60+ recruitment training sessions, practical templates and proven frameworks inside our On-Demand offering, built specifically for recruitment agency leaders and their teams.
