Mile Marker, Go Fish, Crispin add AI clauses to contracts via addendums
Four agency executives interviewed by Digiday, including leaders at Mile Marker, Go Fish and Crispin, described how they are folding AI terms into Master Service Agreements through addendums and added clauses as AI reshapes staffing, production and cost structures. Agencies add these terms when a client asks for a seat in a proprietary AI tool, requests specific AI language in the agreement, or when a new AI-powered tool goes live on a client project. Reed Smith advertising group partner Keri Bruce said clients increasingly want disclosure of which AI tools touch their accounts. Mile Marker CEO Scott Shamberg said his agency builds AI terms directly into existing MSAs, covering metadata management, IP ownership of AI-generated content and tool transparency, since guardrails shift client by client. Go Fish president David Dweck said his agency has added brand safety and data protection clauses over the past six months, and Crispin chief transformation officer Freddy Dabaghi said his agency adds addendums when a project calls for one.
Campaigns billed by the hour today could get priced against AI-driven output tomorrow, and buyers who skip the fine print will find out at renewal. VML global chief innovation officer Brian Yamada said the industry has yet to agree on an AI cost structure, which keeps agencies from building standardized contract language and pushes them toward flexible terms they can revisit as tools and pricing shift. Go Fish president David Dweck said his agency still bills clients by the hour: 'We'd rather stay with what's familiar and how advertisers are paying agencies for a century versus trying to change the game up by trying to be a SaaS company.' Advertisers negotiating new agreements should expect clauses on tool disclosure, data storage, human oversight and IP ownership to appear case by case as specific AI tools enter a project.