by Dana Lee on 14th May 2026 in Video Interviews

In this episode of A Coffee With... Caroline Sajas, SVP of sales at Locala, joins ExchangeWire's head of content, John Still, over a flat white to chat location intelligence and the agentic revolution.

Agentic AI marks a sea change in the media industry, shifting us from simple generative tasks to complex, autonomous operations. Success will depend on both powerful AI agents and skilled human managers who can prompt and challenge them.

Locala, a location intelligence platform, utilises planning agents to gather insights which allow clients to understand local landscapes and maximise outcomes. Transparent, quality data will be the most important differentiator, enabling brands to move from broad targeting to highly precise, localised strategies that meet consumer demands for personalised connection.

The Agentic Revolution

The rise of agentic AI has been met with a mix of both trepidation and excitement. The fear stems from uncertainty about its scale and impact, while the excitement echoes the early days of programmatic, signalling a transformative shift.

The approach of defining a broad audience and replicating it across platforms no longer works; understanding local landscapes is key to connecting with audiences, enabling companies to achieve their campaign goals. Audience should be the outcome of analysis, rather than a starting point.

AI can analyse vast amounts of data and recommend precise, localised strategies, freeing humans from searching for a single thread in whole datasets. This shifts teams in a more proactive direction compared to the reactivity of analytics.

Humans in the AI Era

The agentic revolution demands new skills, revealing a talent gap for people who can manage and leverage these technologies effectively. Similar shifts have occurred throughout history, such as when programmatic automation replaced manual ad trafficking with roles like ad architects and traders.

As an agent’s effectiveness depends on data quality and prompt design, people are essential for setting strategy, scrutinising outputs, and ensuring transparency. Continuous challenge and oversight are needed to build trust and ensure AI aligns with business objectives.

Future Gazing for the Industry

Over the next few years, the key differentiator will be the quality of underlying data. Agents are only as good as the data they use – achieving one-to-one connections that consumers want requires precise, accurate data. Businesses prioritising high-quality, transparent data will win.

The industry will likely enter a “phase of questioning” to understand what’s behind the AI before scaling. The goal is transparency for advertisers and helping them make smarter decisions that drive better outcomes.

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