Fluency vs Smartly

Deciding What AI Should Never Control in Advertising

Eric Picard of Fluency argues that while LLMs and AI agents will become part of advertising workflows, the industry must clearly define what parts of campaign operations AI must never control. He warns that LLMs are probabilistic and therefore unsuitable for making irreversible budgetary or execution decisions without human-in-the-loop governance. Picard outlines three lessons from running automated advertising at scale: platform APIs do not teach operational wisdom, governance must be encoded into automation from the start, and the most valuable automation scales a buyer’s strategic thinking while keeping deterministic execution for money-moving systems.

• Opinion piece by Eric Picard (Fluency) published on August 17, 2026.
• The article argues LLMs are probabilistic and should not be allowed to make irreversible advertising spend or execution decisions without human oversight.
• Picard presents three lessons from running automated advertising at scale: API knowledge ≠ operational know-how; automation requires built-in governance; and automation should scale a buyer's strategic intent with deterministic execution.

TIMBALAND TO HEADLINE SMARTLY’S ADVANCE IN NEW YORK CITY ON SEPTEMBER 29

Smartly announces that Timbaland will headline its ADVANCE event in New York City on September 29.

Timbaland to Headline Smartly’s Advance in New York City on September 29

September 2, 2026 ### TIMBALAND TO HEADLINE SMARTLY’S ADVANCE IN NEW YORK CITY ON SEPTEMBER 29

Smartly ADVANCE Returns to New York Sept. 29

Smartly announced that its flagship conference ADVANCE will return to New York City on September 29, 2026, at Spring Studios, convening more than 750 senior marketing, agency and technology leaders. The agenda will include speakers from across the marketing ecosystem — including Accenture Song, DoorDash, Google, Meta, NBCUniversal, The New York Times, Pinterest, Reddit, TikTok, WPP and YouTube — and opening remarks from Smartly CEO Laura Desmond. The event features two tracks, Creative AI and Commerce AI, and partners such as Google, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Roku, Snapchat and TikTok. NBA Champion Josh Hart and Matthew Hillman (CEO, PATH Talent) will appear in a closing conversation. Registration is open and qualified attendees may be eligible for complimentary admission.

• Smartly's ADVANCE conference returns to New York City on September 29, 2026 at Spring Studios.
• The event will convene more than 750 senior marketing and advertising leaders from brands, agencies and technology platforms.
• Agenda features leaders from Accenture Song, DoorDash, Google, Horizon Media, Meta, NBCUniversal, The New York Times, Pinterest, Reddit, TikTok, WPP, Wpromote and YouTube.