Spoiler: Still here. Still scrappy. Still indispensable.

In November at Beeler.Tech’s Base.Camp in Lisbon, I had the opportunity to lead a session titled “What Will an Ad Ops Department Look Like in the Future?”—a question that produced equal parts curiosity, nervous laughter, and “is this recorded because I want to hear what everyone else says?” energy.

Because the truth is: nothing in our industry is evolving slowly, and Ad Ops is squarely in the center of that shift. Media, technology, creativity, data workflows, compliance, and automation are all colliding. And somehow, we’re still the ones stitching together the revenue engine with a mix of expertise, stubbornness, and well-timed Google Sheets magic.

Instead of pretending I had the answers (I don’t, and neither does anyone else—yet), I turned the room into a set of guided table discussions, allowing a crowed of smart operators to debate what the future of our teams, roles, and skill sets may actually look like.

And while we didn’t land on a single “correct” blueprint, we did surface the themes that will define the next era of Ad Ops.

Let’s walk through them.

1. The Big Shift: What Happens to Entry-Level Work?

(And why this matters more than anything else.)

This topic came up at every table—quickly, emotionally, and with genuine concern.

AI and automation are reshaping the tasks that historically formed the foundation of an Ad Ops career: trafficking basics, QA checks, screenshotting, packaging IOs, reconciling differences, checking pixels, pulling reports… all the muscle-memory work that taught generations of operators how the pipes actually run.

If those foundational tasks evolve or disappear, several things change:

The career ladder gets a redesign. Entry-level won’t be defined by “button-pushing” anymore—it may start at a more strategic altitude.

New operators won’t experience the old apprenticeship model. They won’t absorb knowledge through repetition the way previous generations did. We need new ways to transfer institutional wisdom.

Hiring shifts from “skills” to “aptitude + curiosity.” If rote tasks aren’t the test, then curiosity, communication, adaptability, and analytical instincts become the new currency.

Roles broaden faster. There’s a collapse between Ad Ops, Rev Ops, Yield, Monetization Strategy, and even light product skill sets. Newcomers may enter as generalists—and specialize later.

We must design new systems to teach the craft. Workshops, structured mentorship, shared documentation, internal academies, and real collaboration with HR and L&D teams.

This is not a small change. This is the foundation shifting under our feet—and it deserves top billing in the conversation.

2. Leading in a New World: Guiding Teams While Everything Changes

Leadership today isn’t about being the loudest voice in the room or the keeper of process secrets. It’s more like being the person standing on a treadmill that’s speeding up every three seconds, turning around to your team and saying:

“Okay, swipe your badge—everyone hop on. I’ve tested at least the first mile.”

It’s equal parts direction, reassurance, and transparency.

The group echoed several shared truths:

• Teams need honesty, not bravado.
• Leaders must help people see opportunity in change, not fear.
• Emotional steadiness matters just as much as operational know-how.
• If the systems are being rebuilt, then the roles must be reconsidered alongside them.

This isn’t leadership as we knew it. It’s leadership as a stabilizing force.

3. The New Resourcing Landscape: Outsourcing Isn’t Going Away—It’s Evolving

Outsourcing used to mean “extra hands,” “overflow bandwidth,” or “after-hours coverage.”

But the room agreed: that definition is outdated.

With automation rising, outsourcing is not disappearing—it’s becoming more strategic, more specialized, more hybrid, and more embedded.

Three truths emerged:

1. Outsourcing partners are no longer there just to execute—they’re co-builders. They bring process discipline, 24/7 coverage, and in many cases, the ability to train AI and orchestration layers.
2. The relationship shifts from “staffing” to “capability extension.” Talent, expertise, operational discipline, and documentation excellence matter more than volume.
3. Automation enables insourcing and smarter outsourcing simultaneously. Publishers can take back what’s high-impact, and outsource what requires scale or specialization—often working in tandem with automation.

In other words: Outsourcing partners don’t go away in the future. They just play a more strategic role than ever before.

4. Managing Through Change: Humans First, Then Technology

Every table circled back to one insight: This transformation is not primarily about technology. It’s about people.

Themes that came up repeatedly:

Reassuring teams through uncertainty. Acknowledge the moment. Avoid catastrophizing. Keep people aligned and informed.

Upskilling and learning must be protected time. Innovation hours. Weekly “exploration time.” Safe experimenting without fear of “breaking something.”

Rebuilding knowledge-sharing.Remote culture has eroded informal learning. We need intentional replacements: local meetups, internal workshops, shadowing programs, shared knowledge centers.

Adapt onboarding to different learning styles. One-size-fits-all no longer works. The companies that personalize onboarding will win.

This is the human side of the system shift—and it’s the hardest part.

5. Technology (Beyond the Buzzwords): What Will Actually Change Ops?

We talked plenty about AI—but not in a “drink the Kool-Aid” way. Instead, the group focused on what real transformation may look like:

• Automating repetitive workflows
• Better integrations
• More intuitive tooling
• Smarter QA
• Systems that talk to each other without duct tape
• Publisher-built tech that’s actually maintainable
• And yes… maybe one day we can vibe-code an ad server. (I will believe it when I see it.)

The theme was simple: We’re not just making old workflows faster. We are redesigning how work gets done.

So… What Will Ad Ops Look Like?

Here’s the honest answer:

It depends entirely on how boldly we’re willing to redesign it.

But from the conversations in Lisbon, here’s what feels clear:

• Entry-level work will transform—and we need new ways to nurture talent.
• Outsourcing will evolve into strategic partnership.
• Leadership will anchor teams emotionally, not just operationally.
• Curiosity will outrank technical skills as the hiring superpower.
• Automation will push us up the value chain, not out of the organization.
• Roles will broaden, then specialize, then broaden again—innovation cycles never stop.
• And Ad Ops will remain the connective tissue of monetization.

Ad Ops has always thrived in complexity.

The future simply hands us a bigger canvas—and better tools—to operate smarter, faster, and more collaboratively than ever before.

And if we’re lucky, maybe the AI will finally file screenshots correctly.