IDHL launches AI Labs backed by £1.5m investment to scale proven innovation

Independent digital agency group IDHL has announced the launch of IDHL Labs, a group-wide incubator designed to test, validate and scale AI and machine-learning solutions, and deliver measurable value for clients and teams.

Led by Group Technology Director Jonathan Healey and divisional directors Wes Maynard and Josh Duggan, IDHL Labs underpins the group’s applied-AI strategy and brings together specialists from across the whole IDHL business. The aim is to deliver practical AI innovation – enhancing how people work, strengthening client delivery, and developing scalable products that create real impact and value.

IDHL is making a significant £1.5 million investment in AI to increase its strategic agility, accelerate decision-making, and enhance client growth. The programme focuses on three key areas:

AI-driven automation: ⁠Streamlining repeatable tasks across planning, activation, reporting and Quality Assurance (QA), enabling teams to spend less time on administrative tasks and more on diagnosis, strategy and delivery for clients.

AI-enhanced servicing and strategy: Advancing proprietary tools to improve reporting through AI-driven analysis and real-time feedback, alongside predictive analytics, forecasting and modelling across the digital ecosystem.

Next-generation tooling: Building new AI-powered products and agents that bridge operational gaps between teams, from merchandising and finance to creative and digital production, to deliver genuinely new capabilities to clients.

The Labs approach is rooted in solving human challenges and identifying where AI delivers genuine value rather than complexity.

Labs is already delivering results. An advanced new SEO automation tool developed for one of the largest teams in the group is already saving around 180 hours a month, approximately 30 minutes per day per client, whilst the first product developments include a tone-of-voice platform providing instant feedback against brand guidelines; and a competitor-analysis tool using connected AI agents to map rival activity, content and market positioning.

Jonathan Healey, Group Technology Director at IDHL, said:

"IDHL Labs gives us a clear path from idea to impact. We frame the challenge, test options and scale the solutions that can prove their value. In a market that rewards speed but punishes missteps, that discipline matters. Clients want the benefit of faster delivery, smarter optimisation and clearer ROI without having to rewire everything at once, and without additional risk. Labs lets us do that on their behalf, so by the time something reaches a client team, it has been tried, measured and optimised. It keeps our innovation grounded in outcomes, not experiments for their own sake.“

The launch follows IDHL’s recent acquisitions of The MTM Agency (February 2025) and Vervaunt (November 2025). It reinforces IDHL’s strategy to compete through applied intelligence, measurable outcomes and technology-enabled growth.

Wes Maynard, Divisional Managing Director, said:

"Labs is already helping us remove day-to-day bottlenecks and manual processes, but the real opportunity to be ever more creative; to explore new ideas, and bring the best of them into the work our clients actually see. In a world where everyone is talking about AI, we’re focused on experiments and ideas that solve real challenges and enable us to deliver genuinely effective outcomes. Our clients rely on us to constantly bring fresh approaches, new tools and innovative strategies to the table, and Labs ensures we all retain our position at the forefront of what’s possible.“

Josh Duggan, Divisional Director, said:

"Proprietary technology has been a huge part of Vervaunt’s strategy from day one. Our Shopify app is used by hundreds of stores, our dynamic content tool Visualise powers around 30% of our social impressions, and our internal tool Abacus drives optimisation efforts every day. Joining IDHL gives us the opportunity to bring that experience into a group already investing heavily in applied AI and I’m excited to collaborate on accelerating the shared roadmap and building the next generation of tools for our teams and clients.“