Pencil vs WPP Open (2026): which should marketers use?

Meta description: Pencil vs WPP Open compared for 2026: workflow coverage, models, operating model, published tests and terms, side by side, with sources.

Last checked: 30 September 2026

The short answer

Both platforms cover marketing from strategy to results. WPP Open is WPP's agentic marketing platform. It sits at the centre of WPP's managed service, and WPP Open Pro lets brands of all sizes plan, create and publish on their own.

Choose WPP Open if you want WPP's agencies, data and media alongside the platform. Choose Pencil if you want a platform licence with published model tests and published terms.

Pencil works with the teams you already have. Run it in-house on self-serve plans, add Pencil's managed services, or work with a Brandtech Group agency such as OLIVER.

Workflow coverage

WPP Open, including WPP Open Pro, from public documentation checked 30 September 2026.

Side by side

‍

How we compared

Pencil wrote this comparison. Pencil is part of The Brandtech Group.

We compared public documentation from WPP Open and from Pencil, checked on 30 September 2026. 

Please note: “Not found” means we searched WPP Open's public product pages, documentation, press releases and legal pages and found no description of that feature. It does not mean the feature does not exist.

Products change often, so check with each vendor before you buy. If you think we have something wrong, tell us through trypencil.com/contact and we will review it.

Both offer self-serve and service

WPP Open sits at the centre of WPP's managed service, combining WPP's teams with its technology. WPP Open Pro, launched in October 2025, lets brands plan, create and publish campaigns on their own, or hand off to Open Media Studio.

Pencil works the same two ways. Core, Growth and Pro plans are self-serve, and managed pilots and dedicated GenAI creatives are optional add-ons. Pencil is part of The Brandtech Group. Brandtech agency OLIVER uses Pencil for clients including Unilever and Samsung.

Published tests or expert validation

WPP validates every Agent Hub agent with senior subject matter experts, checks its knowledge sources and tests it for accuracy. We did not find the results of those tests published.

Pencil publishes its tests. AdEvals shows worked evaluations by use case, with the model or agent, the prompt, the criteria and a pass or fail verdict. Failures are included. Both platforms use models from several vendors. Open Pro uses Google, OpenAI and Adobe models, and Pencil runs models from OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Adobe, Runway, Bria and others.

Terms you can read before you buy

Pencil publishes its Pro terms. They cover third-party IP claims about outputs, with exclusions and a cap. They also commit that your content will not train Pencil's or its providers' models, apart from a model dedicated to your workspace. We did not find WPP Open terms or indemnity terms in WPP's public documentation.

Results are public too. Unilever's pilot with Pencil and OLIVER cut cost per asset by 55.4% for Dove Mini Dream and 43.6% for Vaseline.

Choose WPP Open if

• You want WPP's agencies, media and platform in one engagement.
• You want agents built on WPP's proprietary data, such as Brand Asset Valuator.
• You want media execution through WPP Media and Open Media Studio.

Choose Pencil if

• You want a platform licence you can run in-house, with services as an option.
• You want published tests of models and agents on advertising tasks.
• You want output indemnity and no-train terms you can read before you buy.
• You want to connect AI visibility tracking through Share of Model.