The Rise of 'AI-first' Creativity in the GCC

There’s been quite a shift happening across agencies and creatives in the GCC. Not louder, not flashier. Just smarter. We’ve moved past using AI as a shortcut, and into treating it as a full fledged creative partner.

In Dubai, you’ll see teams building full campaign worlds before a single shoot is approved. Moodboards are no longer static. They’re generated, iterated, animated, killed and reimagined in hours using tools like Leonardo, Midjourney, Runway, and Photoshop AI. What used to take days of back-and-forth now happens in a single working session. And clients keep asking for more. The pressure keeps building.

This isn’t about replacing craft. It’s about compressing time so we can spend more of it on thinking.

Across the region, generative AI workflows are becoming standard. In Riyadh, brand teams are prototyping full national campaigns using AI-generated storyboards. Testing tone, casting, and art direction before production budgets are even discussed. In the UAE, AI design tools are being used to localise visuals instantly. “Adapt the campaign”, “change it to Emirati thobe”, “add a hijab”, and consider cultural context. And of course localising regional aesthetics and cultural nuance without having to rebuild from scratch.

The real shift is structural. This is AI transformation in action, habibi. Creatives are no longer just makers. They’re orchestrators. Prompting, defining, curating, refining. The role has evolved.

But there’s a flip side and it’s real.

We’re starting to see one person do what used to take a team. Idea. Copy. Design. Storyboards. Fewer specialists. Faster outputs. On paper, that sounds efficient. In practice, it’s changing how we think. Or more dangerously, how we don’t think.

There’s a growing dependency. Ideas are being generated instead of crafted. Directions are being explored, but not deeply challenged. Some creatives are skipping the hard part, the actual thinking, and letting the machine fill the gaps. And when everyone is using the same tools, trained on the same data, the work starts to feel… familiar. The images. The words. The finishing.

The risk isn’t AI replacing creativity. It’s AI diluting it.

Remember when you used to squeeze your brain to come up with a concept, or two? Because great work never came from speed alone. It came from tension, instinct, cultural understanding. Things no tool can fully replicate, especially in a region as layered as the GCC.

So where does that leave us?

The creatives who will thrive aren’t the ones who rely on AI, or the ones who reject it. It’s the ones who can do both. Those who bring original, authentic thinking to the table, and then use AI to push it further. Not to replace the idea, but to elevate it.

AI shouldn’t be the creative director. You still are.

Let’s Build Something Great Together 🚀

Molly Almasri is an accomplished visual storyteller with over 27 years of experience, specialising in the strategic fusion of visuals and words. She excels at crafting compelling brand experiences across strategy, branding, design, video production, and digital content. Her career spans both agency and in-house roles, providing a unique and insightful perspective on effective brand communication. Molly joined Birdie & Partners as Creative Director - Design and has since been creating impactful narratives and designs that resonate deeply with audiences.

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