The AI-Powered Agency: How collaboration is being rewired in 2025

AI Search isn’t just changing how people find information, it’s reshaping how agencies work, collaborate, and create value. We’re seeing it firsthand.

At Scrunch, we recently launched our Agency Partner Program, and in working closely with our early partners, one thing is clear: agencies are at an inflection point. The old playbook of SEO, PR, and digital marketing is being redefined by AI-driven discovery. While the opportunity is massive, the path forward isn’t always clear and many are figuring it out in real-time.

Here are a few early insights and key considerations for agencies navigating the shift.

1. Clients don’t just want results, they want visibility into the process.

Brands want results, but not in a black box. According to the IAB’s State of Data 2025, more than half of marketers say they lack visibility into how their agency partners are using AI on their behalf. This disconnect erodes trust.

As it relates to AI Search, we find that most brands are excited about the potential, but they're equally cautious and often don’t know where to start. As a result, brands are increasingly turning to their agency partners for guidance.

Considerations for agencies:

Can you clearly explain your agency’s approach to AI Search monitoring and optimization?
Do you offer insights into prompt strategies, data sources, and content structuring tactics?
Do you offer reporting that shows AI visibility metrics, not just web traffic?

Agencies that treat transparency as a core value, not an afterthought are earning deeper trust and longer-term engagements.

2. The metrics that mattered yesterday, won't drive decisions tomorrow.

Traditional KPIs like impressions, backlinks, SERP rankings all still have value, but they don’t reflect how visibility works across AI-powered discovery. LLMs cite sources based on clarity, structure, and authority, not just keywords.

New metrics agencies should consider in the age of AI Search:

Agent visits: Monitor what AI agents and bots are accessing your clients’ website(s) and for what purpose.
Citations: Track how often your clients’ brand is being cited in AI-generated answers.
Share of Voice: Measure your clients’ brand visibility (think: presence, position, and sentiment) relative to competitors.
Referral traffic and conversions: Analyze how users (agents, bots, and humans) are arriving at your clients’ site from AI-powered platforms and whether those visits are leading to meaningful actions (e.g., signups, purchases, downloads, etc.).

Helping clients understand these new signals and building content strategies around them is fast becoming table stakes.

3. Content still reigns, but it must now speak both human and machine.

One theme echoed by nearly every agency we’ve partnered with: great content alone isn’t enough. It also needs the right structure, tags, and context to be picked up by AI platforms and models.

Consider building capabilities around:

Third-party content audits to identify potential opportunities across review sites, aggregators, and affiliates
Structure schema to ensure every page is machine-readable
Prompt experimentation and testing to shape how and where your content shows up

This isn’t about replacing creativity with code, it’s about blending the two to unlock new forms of discoverability. Check out our Resource Guide: Top 5 Content Optimization Problems.

4. AI visibility is not a one-time fix, it’s an ongoing discipline.

Many early partners have told us:

“We didn’t realize how fast things change until we saw how often citations, prompts, and answer formats shifted.”

AI models evolve rapidly. What works today may be outdated next quarter. Agencies need systems in place for continuous monitoring, testing, and refinement.

Consider including in your scope of work:

Recurring prompt performance audits
AI visibility and citation trend analysis
Joint planning sessions focused on AI Search optimization, not just SEO

Agencies who approach AI visibility as an ongoing engagement rather than a one-off deliverable are better positioned to lead.

5. Partnerships will define the next phase of growth.

Agencies don’t have to figure this out alone. That’s why we launched the Scrunch AI Agency Partner Program to support the operational, strategic, and technical work required to win in AI Search.

What partners get:

Agency-first features: From keyword-to-prompt conversion to bulk prompt uploads and improved filtering, we’re actively building with agencies in mind.
Dedicated support: Work directly with our partner success team and access exclusive agency webinars, and best practices.
Prospecting tools: Free license to create pitch-ready dashboards and flexible demo environments that help you win more deals.
Referral rewards: Earn partner commissions on annual deals and more!

Our goal is to foster a community where agencies can test ideas, share learnings, and stay ahead together. We designed this program not as a one-size-fits-all solution, but as a flexible infrastructure agencies can build on.

We believe this is one of the most exciting transitions in the history of agency work and we’re building Scrunch AI to help you lead it.

Interested in learning more? I would love to chat. Book a meeting today.