What to watch in 2026: creativity in an AI-driven world

AI can accelerate production, but it can’t replace human imagination. Jonathan Bradley, Head of Creative at Luxid UK, explains why creativity remains the ultimate growth driver — and how AI can help creatives master new skills, deliver sharper ideas, and build trust in complex B2B markets.

How do you see creativity evolving in an AI-driven world in 2026?

Artificial intelligence is generative, not creative. It cannot make the wild, intuitive, almost-but-not-quite-random connections that fuel human creativity. But what it can do is encompass all human knowledge on a topic and make it accessible in ways never before possible.

A case in point — I have a friend, an investment commentator with zero ‘creative’ training, who now makes polished, professional and very funny video shorts in his spare time.

At Luxid, we’re using AI to level up our creative capabilities in a similar way. The difference between a novice and an expert in a field is that the novice doesn’t know what they don’t know. AI can fix that. For example, I’m not a UX specialist. I don’t know what I don’t know, so I built an AI tool trained on industry standard sources like Neilsen Norman to scorecard UX and UI writing against key criteria. I’m still not an expert, but now I have an informed opinion.

This massively enhanced ability to master new topics and complex information quickly is becoming indispensable for today’s creatives. Over the course of 2026 I think we’re going to see the benefits of that, with human creativity becoming an even more important marketing impact multiplier. I also see creativity playing a central role in helping businesses build engagement and trust with prospects who are themselves using AI to research purchases. This is especially true in complex B2B marketplaces.

What’s your main creative focus as the year kicks off?

There used to be an ad industry maxim that clients could have good, quick, or cheap — but never all three together. How things have changed!

Today, AI’s quite capable of taking care quick and cheap. As a creative leader, I know the only reason clients will want to involve me and my teams is if we can prove we add good to the equation.

That’s my mission for the year ahead. Making sure that, in a dramatically changing marketing landscape, we are fully focused on bringing clients sharp, insightful, growth-driving ideas that are good, quick and cheap (for the business impact they deliver ;-).

Which brands or campaigns are you watching closely for inspiration?

First, I’ll be watching AWS very closely indeed. In a quiet, unassuming way, AWS has evolved to become the planet’s most focused and consistently excellent tech brand. Work like 2025’s Bringing More to The Table campaign for AWS and NTT is indecently good. As one of just fifteen agencies on the AWS global marketing roster, working with this client is both a privilege and a constant spur to aim higher.

For sheer invention, audacity, and viral brilliance, you can’t beat Mschf. This is marketing as fine art — part couture brand, part marketing parody, part situationist provocation. From their Big Red Boots to the Our Cow Angus campaign, vanishingly few creatives know how to create engagement like these guys.

Finally, it’s so often work which comes completely unannounced from nowhere that blows you away. Contagious.com is my way of keeping a finger on the pulse of creative innovation.

What’s the biggest challenge for creative teams this year — and how do you plan to tackle it?

Early in my career I was taught to ask ‘what would I do if it was my money’ when concepting ideas. This is a fantastic way of addressing two big questions: could it work? and would I be proud to see it run?

This focus on delivering value and quality has never been more relevant than today. Every client knows that bread and butter creative production work can be generated in minutes at minimal cost. So, to remain relevant, agencies need to inspire their customers and demonstrably, measurably drive growth.

Creatives (and strategists, data analysts, client service people et al) can see this as either a huge challenge or hugely liberating opportunity. Because in a world of head-spinning change, clients are hungry — starving, even — for fresh thinking to engage audiences and drive growth.

Delivering that comes down to human creative intelligence. That, and focusing on ideas you’d be happy to back with your own money.

What new tools or techniques are you exploring to elevate creative work?

Let’s start with those two very old, very underused tools, pencil and paper. Today, highly finished creative execution is just a well-written prompt away. More than ever, creative work needs to engage its target audience with relevant, unexpected ideas to stand out. Working on paper rather than a screen frees the mind to think different(ly).

On the video production side, AI tools are improving with mind-blowing speed. We’re tracking each iteration of key packages like veo3 and deploying these tools regularly to help clients create fast turnaround and MVP products. This isn’t a question of elevating creative work to the highest possible level, but a way to expand the creative repertoire of startups and other businesses with huge marketing wish lists and super limited budgets.

Finally, a few months back I evaluated creative ideation and strategy development tools like springboards.ai. While they’re fascinating to use, it’s hard to justify the cost. Instead, I’ve started building custom AI agents to perform similar tasks. A good example is the Trottbot — an AI agent trained on the work and creative philosophy of four of the world’s greatest copywriters. While it can’t write like David Abbott, David Ogilvy, Dave Trott or Howard Luck Gossage, it can evaluate work in a way that’s informed by their writerly perspectives. It’s a powerful tool that some of my best writers really rate.

I believe the ability to build new critical, research and problem-solving agents will soon be an essential part of every successful creative’s toolkit.

More to Watch in 2026

Want a broader view of what’s ahead this year? Check out more of our What to Watch in 2026 insights:

Part 1: US Market Trends & Change management by Chris Eifert, Managing Director of Luxid US– Explore emerging shifts in the US market and how organisations can lead change with confidence and agility.

Part 2: Strategy, Differentiation & Data-Driven Decisions by Milla Ikonen, Strategic Marketing and Sales Consultant – Discover how forward-thinking strategies, clearer differentiation and smarter use of data will shape competitive advantage in 2026.

Dive into these posts to round out your view of the key drivers shaping business growth in 2026 — from markets and strategy to creativity and beyond.