The short answer
An AI-first agency builds its creative and production process around AI from the start — instead of bolting AI tools onto a traditional workflow. In practice that means generative pipelines for image, video and content, AI-assisted concepting and pre-production, and senior humans directing taste, strategy and quality. The output is still campaigns, content and experiences; what changes is how they get made — faster iterations, more variations, and budgets that go into ideas instead of overhead.
The Amsterdam landscape, honestly
Amsterdam has a small but real cluster of agencies working AI-first, each from a different angle: creative-AI studios like Aigency Amsterdam and AI AM, and technology consultancies with AI practices like WeAreBrain. Most traditional agencies in the city now use AI somewhere in their process — far fewer are structured around it. If you're comparing, ask one question: can they show you a working AI workflow they built for a client, running in production today?
Where The Official Agency fits
We're the AI-first production agency in that landscape: we build AI content workflows and produce the real-world work they feed. For bol we built an AI workflow for content creation and production (2024–2026), and for Pip Studio an AI workflow for image creation and enhancement. The same crew produces award-winning physical work — like Corona Beach 100, a 200-metre sand artwork in Brazil that won 9 awards. AI-first, human-led: the tech moves fast; the taste, strategy and 30+ years of production craft are ours.
Frequently asked questions
How many AI-first agencies are there in Amsterdam?
A handful. Many Amsterdam agencies now use AI somewhere in their process, but only a small group is structured around it — with AI workflows as a service, not just a tool. The Official Agency is one of them, alongside players approaching it from the creative, consulting and engineering sides.
What does an AI-first agency cost?
Workflow work is typically scoped as a consultancy engagement — audit, pilot, then integration into your content pipeline. Campaign and content production is priced per project, like a traditional agency. The difference is output per euro: once an AI workflow is in place, every next round of content gets faster and cheaper.
What is the difference between an AI-first and a traditional agency?
A traditional agency adds AI tools to an existing process. An AI-first agency designs the process around AI from the start: generative pipelines for image and content, AI-assisted concepting and pre-production, and senior humans directing taste, strategy and quality. Same deliverables — campaigns, content, experiences — different economics and speed.