The Daily Slop

LLM just one of many phrases agency staff encouraged to use in client presentations.

Just as account teams feared becoming reliant on their own initiative to win new business, the rise of AI has brought with it a whole new lexicon of acronyms designed to dazzle clients and feign innovative thinking. 

David Miller-Socks, Account Director at award-winning digital agency Anxious Toad, saw the opportunity to impress his key client, Halfords Autocentre, during a recent in-person RFP at their head office in Redditch. 

“I’d already referenced Gen AI a few times at the 2025 trends presentation so I knew I had to come up with something new. Thankfully, I remembered the management team had sent an email last week with a list of AI-related terms they’d like us to use in client presentations.” 

After the sixth mention, Millers-Socks was quizzed by his client on how a Large Language Model could be used to support the launch of the Halfords 5-Point Summer Service campaign.

“Unfortunately the email we were sent didn’t actually provide any definitions, so I just had to mumble something about how AI will help creativity to thrive. There were a few nodding heads and we carried on.”

Miller-Socks is just one of many middle managers across Adland already embracing the wealth of new terminology in order to wow clients – despite having little or no knowledge of the meaning behind them. 

Daisy Atkins, Senior Technology Strategist at Gen AI creative agency BinFire (formerly known as Johnson Watkins Smith) makes sure she’s prepared for client meetings by writing a list of complex sounding AI terminology on her forearm in order to come across as relevant at any moment. 

“I actually started doing it a few years ago when the Metaverse was a thing. It’s served me well, apart from that one time when the air con in the room was broken and the ink started to run. I told the Head of eCommerce at Tesco that he needed a cockchain. We lost that account shortly after.”

Will agency staff ever need to inconvenience themselves with having to know the meaning behind the terms they claim expertise in? Agency consultant and renowned sales guru, Alain Marishi, suspects not. 

“The beauty of these products and services is that the client has as little interest in buying them as the agency has in selling them. Everyone leaves the room feeling a little smarter, and can go back to working on the Christmas retail campaign.”