What changed
AI has moved from a wait-and-see tool to the first priority for small and midsize businesses. IDC now reports only 6.3% of SMBs are not adopting AI, down from 11.2% last year. Eighty-four percent of SMBs have seen a positive business impact from AI, according to GlobeNewswire (GTIA).
But the way agencies price AI work has not kept up. Seventy-eight percent of IT leaders say they have faced unexpected charges from AI pricing models, per Quantide Growth. The market is moving to outcome-based pricing, where the agency only wins when the client sees results. This shift creates a new competitive moat for service providers.