The co-pilot culture: leading the human + machine creative team

Data is important to Cella by Randstad Digital. Always has been. Historically, we have been a strategic partner to our clients and thought leadership audience, providing you with highly relevant data benchmarking. This is what we prioritize.

This 2026 Expert Perspective Series 2026 is the first in our series of expert interviews and current data reporting. There are myriad sources of AI-driven data, and access to data is not the challenge. Understanding how to operate within the environment we find ourselves in as creatives and marketers – and how to strategically use data to drive decisions — is the purpose of this series.

Earlier this year, Cella surveyed top leaders in the digital, marketing and creative space on The Co-Pilot Culture: Leading the Human + Machine Creative Team. The survey explored the pivotal shift occurring within organizations as generative AI moves from novelty to an integrated, agentic operational tool. We want to understand how leaders are navigating the balance between AI-driven speed and execution, coupled with the critical need for correctness, brand integrity and strategic value.

AI is having a direct impact on how teams are evolving. As AI shifts and shares the responsibility for strategy and prediction between Marketing departments and IHAs, companies are moving from an execution model to an integrated extension driving business impact. This report aims to identify the new measures of success:

The rising concerns of aesthetic drift and how to avoid the pitfalls of “vanilla” output and how to avoid fading into a marketplace of sameness.
Defining the guardrails for ethical and compliance requirements that protect the brand and the enterprise—and who gets a seat at that table?
Exploring how we make the case to both executives and individual contributors to embrace AI as a colleague and contributor to macro business goals.

Here’s a data point we’re entirely sure about: In a world filled with myriad sources of AI-driven facts and figures, access to data is not the challenge. Understanding how to operate within the confines of the environment we find ourselves in as creatives and marketers—and how to strategically use data to drive decisions—is the purpose of this report. We’re optimistic that the challenges aren’t insurmountable. The creative and marketing arms of organizations have an exciting opportunity to position themselves as key contributors to business strategy in the Human + Machine era.

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AI is having a direct impact on how teams are evolving.

Meet the experts

Christine Sheller, Vice President, AI Strategy + Consulting, Cella by Randstad Digital

Christine Sheller helps enterprise creative and marketing organizations navigate the intersection of AI, design, and business transformation. With more than 20 years of experience spanning fintech, healthcare, technology, and lifestyle brands, she specializes in UX, AI strategy, and helping teams reimagine how creative work gets done. She teaches interaction design at ArtCenter College of Design and speaks regularly on AI, creativity, and the future of work.

Andy Epstein, Principal at Invangelist, LLC, and In-house Creative Agency Organizational and Operational Expert

Andy Epstein has worked in in-house creative services for over 25 years, successfully building and leading both small and large teams across various industries. By leveraging both creative and operational expertise, the teams Andy has led have consistently exceeded established KPIs and outperformed peer groups in the industry. Andy has passionately supported the in-house community and has written and spoken extensively at numerous industry events, partnering with flagship organizations such as HOW and AIGA. In addition, he cofounded InSource, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting in- house creative teams. He published The Corporate Creative, one of the few books specifically focused on the in-house professional.

Hear from the experts

Catch my drift?

Avoiding the AI output echo chamber

To what degree does your C-suite align with this statement?

To what degree do you align with this statement as a creative leader?

To what extent are generative AI tools pushing your creative output toward industry-standard styles rather than your distinct brand voice? (1 = No impact; 5 = Significant drift toward generic output)

With an AI-driven future, which of the following is the most critical measure of success for your creative team in the post-AI landscape?

To what extent do you trust AI-driven predictive analytics over your own professional "creative instinct" when choosing a campaign's direction?

Executive decisions:

Making the case

Do you currently view your creative team primarily as a high-volume production unit or as a key contributor to business strategy (predicting business success)?

How concerned are you about "Aesthetic Drift"; the potential for generative AI to dilute your brand identity? (1 = Not concerned; 5 = Extremely concerned)

How important is it for creative leadership to shift budget/metrics away from labor/output (e.g., "hours saved") toward value-based results that measure strategic business impact? (1 = Not important; 5 = Essential)

Expert Perspectives