~~Which AI tools should I use?~~

What are clients willing to pay agencies for when AI does the first pass?

I work with agency leaders on what AI breaks in how the work gets valued and bought, and on repositioning the offer before the client's procurement defines it

Elif Güvençer

Let's talk

I have been on both sides of this conversation

In-houseSenior strategic lead during the formation of pladis, the multibillion-pound global snacking business. Ran the global launch, built the corporate communications function, and hired and managed agencies.

AgencyOgilvy, then Edelman, leading global brand communications, new business.

Board-level advisorVice President at RepTrak, advising CCOs and boards on reputation and risk. Lead advisor on AI as a Stakeholder™, RepTrak's AI reputation solution.

Speaker, commentatorSpeaks at industry events and conferences on AI for communications and writes the newsletter AI: The Reputation Signal. Bylines in PRWeek and Strategic.Next keynote at AMEC AI Day, 4 November 2026, London

One of your clients wants you to prove you do not use AI in their materials. The other is glad you do.Both are asking the same thing: “Why should we pay the same budget when the thing that took five hours now takes one?”

The challenge

The basis of value for agency work is changing. What's on offer should follow

01
Clients have access to the same AI tools as you
02
Every client takes a different view of AI, so no single answer works across your portfolio
03
The tactical advice out there risks turning every efficiency gain into a fee cut

The move is to identify what AI has changed in how the work gets valued and bought, and from there decide how the offer is positioned before the client's procurement team defines it for you

The stakes

The cost of staying behind shows up as account risk

A client asks what AI means to their fees

Procurement arrives with a view on what AI should have saved them, and a number attached

A long-standing client asks you to confirm in writing that no AI was used on their account

Each AI conversation is a fee negotiation waiting to happen, because AI is automating the work that has traditionally been billed by the hour: monitoring, reporting and drafting content

The approach

Stop chasing the technology. Follow the value instead

What has AI changed in what clients pay agencies for?This is where you need to start
Which of our services hold their value, and which lose it?
What can we offer that a client cannot get from a tool, or do in-house?
What do we tell each client about how we use AI?
Which tools do we need?Most agencies start here

Most agencies start at the last question. That is how the efficiency ends up being a fee cut

Ways I can help

Four answers to the questions you already hear

Find the question you are being asked. The answer next to it is what I deliver

The questionsThe answers

What are we charging for when the deliverable takes an hour instead of five? 01Offer RepositioningYour offer, repositioned around what clients now buy, with a plan you can act on immediately

Clients are asking what AI means for our fees. What do we say? 02Client AnswerYour position on AI and fees, and how to frame it client by client

If a freelancer put an embargoed announcement in ChatGPT, would we even know? 03AI Reputation Exposure ReviewThe AI you deploy and the AI coming at you, in a risk register your team can run

A prospect asked ChatGPT which agencies to consider and we weren't on the list. How do we change that? 04Signal ArchitectureHow AI engines put together a view of the agency, and how to govern the signals they draw on

Let's talk

AI is moving fast, and one size definitely doesn't fit all. If you need something else that's not on this list, let's have a conversation.

How I work

Each answer comes at the depth you need

You can work with me at any one depth on its own. Start at Orient, Decide or Build, whichever fits where you are.

Orient

You leave knowing where you stand

Decide

You leave with a clear plan of what to do

Build

You leave with something we build together, that runs without me

Beyond the answers

Other ways to work with me

On the bench

When a client needs senior counsel on AI, from strategy to execution, some agencies would rather bring me in. I join your team as the named practitioner on the engagement, working alongside you.

The standing day

A day a month or a day a fortnight, held in your calendar, spent on whatever the agency is working on that month. It does not require a prior project.

The clinic

Half a day with your leadership team. Questions come in beforehand. You leave with a direction of travel and next steps.

A simpler ask: speaking

A leadership team that can see the business model is under pressure but has not decided what to do about it. An all-hands where people want to know what this means for the way they work.

The method behind every answer

The Two Clocks Framework™

For leaders willing to think and act on what AI means for their agency and how to redesign their value proposition

The framework

Two clocks are running. They are faster for agencies

Each AI disclosure is a fee negotiation, whether or not anyone calls it that

Inward-facing

The structural clock

What the agency needs to become: its value proposition, and how it charges when hours no longer hold the value

Where the offer is redesigned. Few agencies are working on it

Outward-facing

The immediate clock

The work in front of you. For an agency, that's the client asking how you're using AI

Where the client conversation happens. Every agency is already in it

The framework has five dimensions: three on the structural clock and two on the immediate clock. Both clocks have to run

Tell me what's happening and I'll tell you how I can help

Prefer to talk? Book a 20-minute call →

Thanks. I read these myself — not my AI — and reply within two working days. While you wait, the newsletter is where I think out loud

Or email me directly: elif@thetwoclocks.com

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