At Cannes Lions, advertisers shift from AI doubts to adoption

In short: At this year’s Cannes Lions festival in France, advertising leaders signaled that the industry is moving from skepticism about AI to using it as a core tool.

What's going on

Cannes Lions is an annual festival in Cannes, France, where people from big advertising and media companies meet to share work and talk about what is next. Reporting from the event said artificial intelligence was one of the main themes this year.

Coverage described a noticeable mood change. In past years, many ad leaders talked about AI with caution and doubt. This time, more companies presented AI as something they are actively using, and as a key part of future growth and measuring returns on spending.

The shift is tied to pressure from platforms like YouTube and TikTok, where brands can reach huge audiences without relying as much on traditional ad agencies and media buying. AI-driven content creation also adds pressure, because it can help make text, images, and videos faster (like having a tireless assistant that drafts many versions for you). With those forces reshaping how ads are made and distributed, Cannes Lions has become a place for the industry to rally and compare strategies.

What to watch

Expect more ad campaigns to be built with AI in the workflow, and more debate about what should be automated versus what should stay human-led. It is also worth watching how advertisers judge results, since AI can make more content, but it does not automatically make it better or more trusted.

Source: NYTimes