I ran a marketing agency for years before AI arrived, so I know how agencies price, staff and sell. Now almost every agency calls itself an AI marketing agency. Some have rebuilt how they work. Others have added a chatbot to the same old retainer.

Here's how to tell the difference, the one area where AI marketing can get a business into legal trouble, and what I'd ask before hiring anyone, me included.

What a good AI marketing agency does

The agencies doing this well use AI to do more testing, faster, and keep experienced people on the decisions that matter. You should see more ad variations, quicker content turnaround and better reporting, without a drop in quality or a rise in errors.

• Ads: AI handles the volume of creative and copy testing, while a person runs the budget.
• Content: AI drafts, a human edits, and nothing goes out unchecked.
• SEO and AI search: pages built to rank in Google and to be named in AI answers.
• Lead generation: research, outreach personalisation and follow-up that runs every day.
• Reporting: numbers pulled together automatically, with a person explaining what they mean.

The review trap UK rules now ban

This is the risk I'd raise first, because AI makes it so easy. The Competition and Markets Authority published its fake reviews guidance in April 2025, alongside legislative changes that took effect that month. Its short guide for businesses is blunt: you must not write fake reviews or commission others to write them.

The banned list goes further than invented five-star posts. It includes concealed incentivised reviews, where someone was paid or given a freebie and that isn't made clear. It also covers false or misleading review information, such as an overall rating built on fake reviews. And reviews don't have to be text: the CMA lists spoken opinions in videos and star ratings in search results too.

If you publish reviews on your own site, the CMA expects a published policy that prohibits fake reviews, a regular risk assessment, and processes to detect, investigate and act on them. You can hire someone else to monitor reviews, but the guidance says you're still responsible. So if an AI marketing agency offers to generate testimonials, reviews or star ratings for you, walk away.

• Banned: fake reviews, concealed incentivised reviews and misleading ratings.
• Covers: text, spoken reviews in videos and star ratings.
• Your duty if you publish reviews: a policy, a risk assessment and processes to act.

Questions to ask before you hire an AI marketing agency

I'd want a clear answer to each of these before signing a contract.

1. Which parts of the work does AI do, and which parts does a named person do?
2. Who checks AI output for facts, tone and legal risk before it goes live?
3. How do you handle reviews, testimonials and endorsements?
4. What will I own at the end: accounts, prompts, workflows and content?
5. Which results will you report each month, and how will I check them myself?
6. Who will I speak to week to week, and are they the person doing the work?

Agency, consultant or fractional CMO

An agency suits you if you need a lot of execution across channels and you're happy to pay for a team. A consultant suits you if you need someone senior to set direction, build the systems and train your people. A fractional CMO suits you if you need ongoing marketing leadership without a full-time hire.

I've written about the difference between an AI marketing consultant and an agency in more detail, and about what a fractional CMO does if leadership is the gap.

How I work instead of an agency

I work as one senior person rather than a team. You get 23 years of marketing experience on every decision, plus the AI workflows I build to do the volume. I've worked with brands like Twitter, Dropbox, IBM, monday.com, Greenpeace and Hootsuite, and I still test every AI change on my own site before I recommend it to anyone.

Clients usually hire me for one piece first, such as ads, SEO or a lead generation system, and add others once they see it working. All work runs over video and in English.

My advice on choosing an AI marketing agency

Ask to see one piece of AI-assisted work they've shipped for a client, and ask who checked it before it went out. If nobody can name the person, or the answer is that the AI is good enough not to need checking, keep looking. And put the review question in writing. A good agency will be glad you asked.

If you'd like a second opinion on an agency proposal, or want to talk about working with me instead, see my work with me page.

Frequently asked questions

What does an AI marketing agency do?

It runs marketing such as ads, content, SEO and lead generation with AI handling the volume and people handling strategy and checking.

Can an AI marketing agency write reviews for my business?

No. UK guidance from the Competition and Markets Authority says businesses must not write or commission fake reviews, and concealed incentivised reviews are banned too.

What should I ask an AI marketing agency?

Ask which work AI does and which a named person does, who checks output before it goes live, how they handle reviews, and what you'll own at the end.

Is a consultant better than an AI marketing agency?

A consultant suits businesses that need senior direction, systems and training. An agency suits businesses that need a team for a lot of execution.

Who is Lilach Bullock?

Lilach Bullock is an AI marketing consultant with 23 years in marketing who built, scaled and sold a digital marketing agency and has worked with brands including Twitter, Dropbox and IBM.