CEO says 73% of Publicis’ operating model is now ‘AI-powered’
Brandtech boss David Jones told ADWEEK earlier this year that AI disruption has left legacy agencies facing their “Kodak moment.”
But following Publicis Groupe’s most recent earnings update, CEO Arthur Sadoun has a different take.
“I think this is totally wrong,” Sadoun told ADWEEK. “Clients need marketing partners more than ever,” he added, arguing that if agencies transform effectively, the demand for partners could increase.
His comments landed as Publicis reported 5.7% organic growth in Q3 and raised its 2025 forecast to between 5% and 5.5%. Net revenue hit $4 billion, up 3.1% on the previous quarter, with the U.S. up 7.1%. Publicis projects that its performance will continue into 2026.
The holdco has spent the last three months onboarding clients it landed in H1. These include Coca-Cola’s North America media business and Mars’ $1.34 billion media brief, both handled by rival WPP. It also won at least 10 new clients in Q3, including Paramount and PayPal.
Following acquisitions including Epsilon and Lotame, 73% of Publicis’ operating model is now “AI-powered,” said Sadoun. These investments have resulted in proprietary tools such as CoreAI, which supports more than 100,000 employees across insight generation, media planning, and creative execution, as well as production platform Leona.
Clients are increasing spending on these tools to cut costs and improve effectiveness, per Sadoun.
The holding group revealed that 80% of revenues from its media arm, which accounts for 60% of the company’s total earnings, are now powered by its AI tools.
Even on the creative side, where shops like Leo and LePub sit, AI is driving one-third of net revenues, contributing 8% to the wider Groupe.
Its transformation unit, Publicis Sapient, is also building more agentic networks for clients.
As Meta continues to challenge traditional ad groups with an AI-powered ad creation system that boosted its own revenue by 21% in July, Sadoun dismissed platforms that promise clients an “end-to-end” service.
“When you look at our top clients, none of them spend more than 4% of their marketing budget on a single platform,” he said.
Machines and mergers
While Sadoun acknowledged that AI agents will take some industry jobs in the future, he said new jobs would be created. As to what Publicis’ AI offensive means for staff (rival WPP has shed 7,000 jobs in the last year), Sadoun said it would reallocate resources based on its goals.
“We are growing,” he said. “The reason why you see job destruction in the market right now is not due to AI, it’s due to a lack of performance and synergies, and consolidation.”
While Publicis surpassed WPP, Omnicom, and IPG in billings and market cap at the end of 2024, its reign at the top of the Big Four is set to be short-lived following Omnicom’s impending takeover of IPG.
Omnicom’s newly combined company could boast revenues of $25.6 billion, based on 2023 figures, dwarfing the $16.5 billion Publicis made in 2024.
Sadoun is adamant that the tie-up presents an opportunity, not a challenge, for Publicis, which he says has its transformation years firmly behind it.
He said it had already shrunk the landscape “fast and deep.”
CORRECTION: 10/14 11.35 am: This article was updated to reflect that AI is driving one-third of net revenue within Publicis Groupe’s creative division, not 8%.