Exploring The Impact of Generative AI on Italian Marketing and Communication Agencies

In recent years, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been radically reshaping the global business landscape thanks to significant advances in the field of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI). This technology, which can emulate human creativity, has rapidly penetrated many industries, particularly the domain of marketing. This thesis explores the broad impact that generative AI (GAI) is having in this sector, with a specific focus on its effects on the landscape of marketing and communication agencies in Italy. The first chapter provides an overview of the origins of AI and delves into its fundamental concepts, with a specific focus on GAI and its mechanisms of operation. The second chapter analyzes in detail the state of the art of the adoption of GAI in the marketing sector, exploring in depth the tools used, the main areas of application, and the challenges and obstacles this technology brings. Finally, the third chapter offers a detailed picture of the impact of GAI on Italian marketing and communication agencies through a mixed-methodology empirical analysis. The research combines quantitative data from a survey sent to a representative sample of Italian marketing and communications agencies and qualitative interviews with two companies in the industry.