A recent Digiday report highlights a growing tension in the advertising world: holding companies are racing to build out AI tools and services, but they haven’t yet figured out how to sell them. At the same time, principal media has quietly become a major source of profit margin for these agencies. For creators who rely on brand and ad spend, both trends are worth watching closely.

Principal media is the practice where agencies buy ad inventory in their own name and resell it to clients, rather than acting as a pure middleman. That shift has helped holding companies boost profitability, but it also raises questions about transparency and how much of that margin is being generated by simply marking up media costs. The Digiday briefing notes that this has become a significant profit engine, even as the AI push remains a work in progress from a commercial standpoint.

The creator economy angle is indirect but important. When holding companies lean harder into principal media, the way budgets get allocated across platforms changes. If agencies are incentivized to buy inventory they already own or control, it can affect which channels and formats get prioritized — and creators may see shifts in demand for premium inventory or direct partnerships.

On the AI side, the fact that agencies have not yet cracked the sales pitch means many are still in an experimentation phase. For creators, this could mean slower adoption of AI-driven campaign optimization tools, or a lag in how brands use AI to target audiences. That said, the eventual winners in this space may end up reshaping how ad dollars flow to creator platforms.

It’s still early, and the Digiday briefing doesn’t offer specific numbers or examples. But the strategic direction is clear: agencies are chasing margin through principal media while betting on AI that they haven’t fully monetized. Creators should keep an eye on how these incentives play out, because they could directly influence both advertiser behavior and the health of the platforms where creators earn their income.

Ultimately, this is a story about growing pains in the ad industry. Holding companies want to be technology leaders and profitable traders, but they haven’t yet found the right formula. For creators, the takeaway is to stay flexible and watch where the next wave of ad spend lands.