Agencies double down on AI

Publicis used its first-quarter results to argue that artificial intelligence is now part of how big agencies run, not a side tool. (publicisgroupe.com) On April 14, Publicis reported 6.4% organic revenue growth and 4.5% organic net revenue growth for the quarter, with the United States up 4.7%, Europe up 4.0% and Asia-Pacific up 6.0%. Chief executive Arthur Sadoun said the group had outperformed the industry for almost 20 quarters in a row. (publicisgroupe.com) Publicis tied that performance to a stack of data and automation assets it has been building for years. In January 2024, the company said it was putting artificial intelligence at the core of the business through CoreAI, which it described as an “Intelligent System” built on proprietary data, client data and platform data. (publicisgroupe.com) That system has expanded through deals as well as internal spending. Publicis said on March 6, 2025 that it would acquire identity company Lotame, whose marketplace spans 109 countries and more than 1.6 billion identifiers, and said on April 2, 2026 that it would buy sports agency 160over90 and power it with Epsilon data and its media platform. (publicisgroupe.com 1) (publicisgroupe.com 2) Publicis added another piece on March 12, 2026, when it announced the acquisition of predictive measurement company AdgeAI. The company said that deal would strengthen its ability to forecast performance and connect media spending to business outcomes before campaigns run. (publicisgroupe.com) Rivals are making the same pitch with their own platforms. WPP said it invested £250 million in WPP Open in 2024 and planned to raise that to £300 million in 2025, describing the system as a common artificial-intelligence marketing platform used across strategy, creative, production, media and analytics. (wpp.com 1) (wpp.com 2) Omnicom has made a similar case around Omni, its internal operating system for planning and targeting, while expanding its precision marketing and commerce units around data and artificial intelligence. The company’s 2025 annual report said it was expanding Omni as it integrated Interpublic Group assets, and Omnicom’s corporate materials describe precision marketing as being rooted in data, technology and artificial intelligence. (stocktitan.net) (omnicomgroup.com) The shift inside agency groups is from selling isolated artificial-intelligence tools to selling a shared operating layer that sits under media buying, creative work, audience targeting and measurement. Publicis said Adobe Firefly would be integrated across its capabilities through CoreAI in March 2025, and WPP describes Open as a single workspace for talent, clients and artificial-intelligence agents. (publicisgroupe.com) (wpp.com) Publicis is also pairing that technology message with new category bets. Sadoun said sports is the company’s “next big bet” as Publicis folded 160over90 into Publicis Sports, a move meant to combine events and fan marketing with Epsilon data, creator work from Influential and the group’s media scale. (marketingdive.com) (publicisgroupe.com) For the big holding companies, the current argument is less about cutting jobs than about owning the system clients use every day. Publicis used its quarter to say those investments are already showing up in growth. (publicisgroupe.com)