Simon Spyer unveils start-up for AI 'that actually works'

Former Iris chief Simon Spyer has revealed his next venture will “cut through the AI noise” to offer a service that designs, builds and deploys bespoke AI technology that “actually works” in optimising brands’ most valuable marketing assets.

The “soft launch” of AI Agents comes just weeks after Spyer left Iris, where he was most recently managing director of the agency’s data-driven and performance marketing business, having joined in 2017.

A highly experienced and respected data professional, Spyer started his career client-side working at Sainsbury’s and Campbell Soup. He then joined Quant Marketing as a consultant, eventually becoming chief strategy officer.

Next up, he had a spell at VCCP Me and co-founded Conduit Data Services within the VCCP Partnership in 2012, where he was partner and principal consultant.

On leaving Iris, Spyer had vowed to launch “something special” in the near future, which would be “rooted in data, shaped by agents and built with intent”.

He has now fleshed out that proposition, ahead of a full launch in the coming weeks.

Backed by an AgentLab programme which deploys AI agents that are embeded in existing marketing stacks, Spyer maintains that the system will mean no new platforms, no infosec risk and no tech bottlenecks.

According to the official line: “Whether it’s performance marketing, acquisition, retention, segmentation, reporting or content, our agents are always designed, built and supervised by expert marketers; embedded in your marketing workflows; trained on your business rules and data.

“We’re not talking chatbots or assistants, these are fully functional, domain-specific agents that execute tasks like personalising customer journeys in real-time; optimising content based on SEO and performance data; auditing and standardising CRM data for segmentation; and automating performance reporting and insight generation.”

Speaking exclusively to Decision Marketing, Spyer said: “The future of marketing isn’t replacing people with AI, it’s combining AI with human expertise. That’s why I am launching Data Agents – to put human-supervised AI agents to work where they deliver the most impact.

“The result is faster execution, less waste and measurable growth. This is about making AI practical and usable now, not five years from now.”

The launch of AI Agents taps into growing concerns among many in the marketing industry that businesses have rushed head on into adopting the technology only to discover that, when it comes to actually deploying it at scale, they simply do not have the backend systems, the data infrastructure or even the knowhow to unlock its full potential.

Amperity’s recent 2025 State of AI in Retail Report reinforced this view by revealing that, while 45% of retailers are already using AI daily or several times per week, and 97% plan to maintain or increase their investment in the coming year, only 11% said they are fully prepared to deploy AI tools at scale.

The findings supported Kantar’s “GenAI for marketing: Fear or FOMO” report, published earlier this year, which exposed the gap between the potential of AI to revolutionise the industry and current adoption, concluding that the true AI revolution was “between three and five years away”.