In this AI era, agency leaders must find ways to “future-proof their agencies,” was the resounding message at the Build A Better Agency (BABA) Summit 26 held May 18-20, 2026, in Denver. The sixth annual event was sponsored by the Agency Management Institute (AMI).
AMI president Drew McLellan said more than 350 advertising, PR, digital, and marketing agency leaders gathered to find ways to pivot during these turbulent times
“Agencies must go from being disposable to being indispensable,” said opening keynote speaker Marcus Sheridan, author of the book Endless Customers.
As an owner of IMPACT, Sheridan has established one of the most successful digital sales and marketing agencies in the country.
Sheridan said, “The future is difficult to predict,” but added that what doesn’t have a strong future for agencies are writing blog posts, managing social media, basic SEO, and running standard ad campaigns.
According to a 2026 Revenue Memo study, 53% of agency owners now agree that AI poses a credible threat to the agency business model. That is up from 44% just one year earlier.
Some attendees joked: “When will the other 47% of agency owners wake up?”
“Everyone was scared when AI arrived, but they are fighting the wrong fight,” said Brian Gerstner, president of Colorado-based White Label IQ, the presenting sponsor for all six BABA Summits.
In addition to operating as an agency, Gerstner’s company provides white-labeled digital services and skillsets to over 60 agencies across the country.
“We all thought our clients were going to pull away from us, but instead they leaned in and asked us to be the experts they hired us to be,” said Gertsner, who spoke at the summit on 2026 Agency Edge research on agency perceptions vs. agency beliefs.
In addition to the main stage speakers and breakout sessions, BABA Summits feature a curated group of sponsors who attend as expert resources and agree not to sell at the conference.
“Agencies are looking for trusted third-party channel partners because there is a lot of uncertainty with AI,” said John Greely, head of marketing with Palo Alto, California-based Navu, a summit sponsor.
Sponsors and attendees agreed that the heat is on to produce more value with lower budgets.
“The pressure is on for agencies to deliver a deeper level of value because the AI tools allow it at the same cost or lower,” said Zack DeLista, COO of Level 10 CFO, which handles outsourced finance and accounting for agencies.
The rise of AI agents should not be seen as a threat, but rather as a new reality. As speaker Robin Boehler, a partner at Mercer Island Group, put it, “The buyer has changed. Have you?”
“Robots will not be doing everything by next week,” said Brian Hehir of fullthrottle.ai. “Marketing leaders are recognizing how important humans are.”
A recurring summit theme was that humans need to do what humans do best: strategy.
“AI cannot come up with an original idea rooted in a business objective,” said Jeff Cohn, who owns a Denver-based brand agency.
While AI is a labor-saving boon to marketing, nobody said navigating its embrace would be easy.
“The problem is fragmented AI solutions need to be consolidated into one system,” said Spencer Krieger, head of sales for Saskatchewan, Canada-based Vendista, a 17-year-old company but a first-time sponsor of the BABA Summit.
AMI was founded in 1995 (originally called the Agency Management Roundtable, or AMR) with the intention of teaching and promoting the highest standards of business practices and professional ethics among privately owned agencies (advertising, PR, digital, marketing) in North America.
Henry DeVries is a former Forbes online columnist who is the chief book strategist at Indie Books International. He has ghostwritten, co-authored, or edited more than 200 business books, including his international bestseller, How to Close a Deal Like Warren Buffett.
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