During the time when macroeconomic headwinds pressure global holding companies to protect margins, WPP has doubled down on internal efficiency to defend profitability and reduction in its reliance on external freelancers.
WPP Profit Plunge Sparks For Restructuring
It seems that WPP is facing a dramatic profit decline, prompting massive layoffs and a strategic pivot towards digital transformation.
Considering the situation, the advertising giant is setting its sights on becoming a tech-driven firm, heavily investing in AI and data analytics to reshape its future under new leadership.
Anyways, it was a cost head that has long burdened agencies, especially in lower-cost markets.
The company achieved a 13% drop in freelance usage over the past 12 months further contributing to an overall 25% decline over the past two years.
The company said freelancers account for just 6.7% of WPP’s total workforce, down from 8.2% as of H1 2025 in its 2025 interim Q2 report which was released on Aug 7.
It is a common period practice where most of the agencies rope in freelance marketers to handle smaller clients and in low-cost markets such as tier 2 and tier 3 cities in India.
Harnessing Artificial Intelligence To Reshape Workflows
During the first half of FY25, WPP has reported a 7.8% drop in revenue for its interim results, with like-for-like (LFL) revenue down 2.4%.
This is reflecting continued client caution and broad-based softness across geographies and verticals.
In the meantime, WPP is harnessing artificial intelligence to reshape workflows and drive productivity gains across functions.
If you are wondering regarding these 50,000 AI agents, the launch of AgentBuilder Pro—an upgrade to its existing tool within the WPP Open ecosystem—has enabled the creation of these agents.
Basically, these are virtual agents which are now embedded across financial operations, HR, IT support, account management, and even client-facing creative and media planning processes.
It appears that this AI deployment aligns with WPP’s broader innovation agenda.
This agenda includes proprietary tools such as WPP Open Creative Studio and WPP Open Media Studio, as well as partnerships with technology majors including Adobe, Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, IBM, and OpenAI.
