5 Massive Changes Coming for The Creative Services Industry

Brace yourself, I’m about to give away my age… I’m old enough to remember when you had to spend 1800 dollars to purchase photoshop on a cd and install it over several hours. I’m even old enough to remember Corel Draw. It used to require tons of money, and entire years before someone could get decent at being creative. Now, anyone can jump into software for literally no money and learn how to start making things in minutes instead of months.

The barrier to entry for someone who wants to be in creative services has never been lower. This is contributing to the commoditization of creative work and creative people like you and me.

So what gives? What can be done? Well, I don’t fully know. But I do know that as things change we’re about to see several major shifts in the world of creative services as all of this starts to accelerate even more.

The creative industry is literally changing on a daily basis. Canva, Adobe, and all the other platforms we use are changing faster than we can keep up. New tools, brands, and platforms are springing up left and right thanks to AI. Honestly, it’s all super overwhelming. Here are five major shifts I see coming, and what YOU can do about them if you want to survive. Here are the 5 major changes I see coming over the next five years:

01 AI will replace commodity content, but unique creativity will be more valuable than ever

Simply designed content and standard communications will be automated, but authentic, humorous, and unique creative work will stand out. Creatives who bring real human experience and years of skill will become more valuable. Tools are also becoming easier to use; for example, what once required expensive software and years of training, like Photoshop, can now be done in minutes with free tools like Canva.

Your response: Put your personality into your work. Learn to use humor and ideas to come up with concepts and solutions that AI can’t. Now is the time to really put yourself into what you are making. Let yourself become more passionate than ever before about what you do. Hunger will be key for you to respond this way. Grow in your hunger for the creative thing(s) inside your soul and AI will never out-create you.

02 Content creators will be replaced by guides and consultants.

As AI advances, people will rely less on entertaining personalities and more on experts who can guide them. The demand for creative consulting will grow as specialized experts share their knowledge. Creatives with 10 or more years of experience in a specific field will be highly valued. Content creators will have a place but true guides will be a higher value to the marketplace because the supply will be low and the demand will be high.

Your response: Become the guide for your clients and employer. Start to not just see yourself as a task-doer…but as someone who knows how to get people from A to B. This will require an upgrade in confidence and a mindset shift, but it’s possible. As AI gets more advanced the workforce will need people who know how to help guide, not just entertain and make things. See yourself as a consultant and learn how to be a good one!

03 Creative leadership will become essential.

As AI replaces routine creative work, companies will need skilled leaders to direct creative teams. Director-level roles for creative professionals will see a surge in value. Creative projects will happen faster, with outputs that once took months being completed in hours or even minutes. This fast pace will create a new emotional load for creative teams, making strong leadership vital.

Your response: Expand your toolbelt of soft skills and learn how to lead. This isn’t that difficult. Grab a good book on leadership and start seeing yourself as someone who knows what to do. Do you work well with others? Can you lead a team? Your stock is only going to go up. Not good at those things? Get good at those things. Similar to No. 02…give yourself permission to change your mind and see yourself as someone who can lead others. This is the pathway to pay increases!

04 Industry experience will matter more than ever.

Creatives who know industries like healthcare, manufacturing, or finance will be far more valuable than generalists. Their industry knowledge, combined with the right AI skills, will make them incredibly efficient and effective. Understanding the human side of buying decisions will remain essential, even as AI advances.

Your response: Now is the time to find your niche. I have said this over and over again and it’s going to be the biggest game changer for people who take it seriously. Go and grab my free resource for how to find and own your niche as a creative services professional.

05 Storytelling will become the most in-demand skill across every industry.

The ability to emotionally engage audiences and take them on a transformative journey will be crucial for all creative roles. Strong storytelling will be the top skill across both B2C and B2B spaces. AI will be a helpful tool, but it won’t replace the power of human storytelling.

Your response: Storytelling changed my career. When I learned a simple framework for storytelling it made the brand strategy work I was doing 10X more valuable. It made my designs better. It made me a better leader when I started hiring. It helped me sell 30K, 70K, and 100K + contracts. Go and learn how to tell a story! Donald Miller’s book Building a Story Brand is a great place to start.

Face it.

AI is ALREADY HERE! But you don’t have to go quietly. You don’t have to go into real estate, haha! You don’t have to just give up and receive the death sentence of being replaced by machines.