Artificial Intelligence Will Rewrite the Rules of Business, Says Rishad Tobaccowala

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — A new wave of businesses will soon hit the $1 billion revenue mark with fewer than 100 employees, driven by the transformative power of artificial intelligence, according to an ad industry veteran turned thought leader and author.

Speaking about his latest book “Rethinking Work,” Rishad Tobaccowala, author and advisor, says AI’s lean revenue machines will dramatically contrast with traditional agencies where a billion-dollar top line requires some 6,000 employees.

Existing companies face a stark choice: adapt or be left behind, he said in this video interview with Beet.TV.

AI’s existential opportunities – and risks

“AI itself is going to be like electricity,” Tobaccowala said. “So it doesn’t make sense having an AI strategy. It makes sense having a strategy how it is impacted by AI.”

While many focus on AI’s potential to boost efficiency and effectiveness in marketing, Tobaccowala stressed its capacity to reshape entire business models and introduce entirely new competitive landscapes.

“It also will change the rules of the game. It will create completely new models of business and completely new competitors,” he said.

He said AI should be thought of as an alien form, which companies can work with.

Impact on ad-tech, publishers, and agencies

Tobaccowala is the former Publicis executive who has gone on to advise a range of companies and become an author and media thinker. In the interview, he identified three key areas where AI will immediately impact ad tech companies, publishers, and agencies:

1. Prioritize their AI initiatives, focusing on a select few areas where AI can deliver the greatest impact. He predicted an increased focus on using AI to generate insights and content more cost-effectively. “Companies are going to have to decide on what two or three things they can focus because they can use AI on everything,” Tobaccowala said.
2. Grapple with the implications for their workforce, needing to reassess both the size and skillsets required in an AI-driven environment. This will involve retraining and reorganizing, essential steps to realize the full potential of AI. “This is going to be also about retraining and reorganizing the company,” Tobaccowala said. “I don’t think most companies are going to be able to get the efficiency and the effectiveness without actually also changing the way they think about talent and the way they organize the company.”
3. Opportunities and threats from unexpected quarters, as AI blurs traditional industry boundaries. New AI-native companies, he predicted, will emerge to challenge established players, offering alternative approaches to existing services like media mix modeling.

‘Rethinking Work’ in the age of AI

Tobaccowala’s new book, “Rethinking Work,” explores the profound changes impacting the workplace. He contends that work will change more between 2020 and 2030 than it has in the past 50 years.

He describes four key adaptations companies are already making: embracing new types of employees, integrating human-machine collaboration, cultivating new leadership styles, and reimagining the role of the office.

The final chapters of the book focus on preparing for 2030, offering strategies for rethinking business strategy, organizational design, training, and financials.