Arthur Sadoun: 'AI on its own is no longer a competitive advantage'

This past year, Publicis Groupe chief Arthur Sadoun has witnessed just how fast the ground beneath marketers has shifted than at any point in the last decade. And when it comes to AI, it’s no longer about experimentation with the new novelty tool – it’s now a necessity with expectations rising accordingly. He’s seeing transformation at scale, while accessibility to AI widens, meaning that on its own it is already no longer a competitive advantage.

Speaking ahead of Cannes Lions, Sadoun also shares some insights into how he’s leading the business to success against a backdrop of geopolitical volatility and economic unpredictability, while revealing the profession he’d have taken on had he not entered the world of advertising, and a few more personal insights along the way too.

Creative Salon: What would you say have been the most significant shift for marketers in the last 12 months?

Arthur Sadoun: Just a year ago, so many businesses were still experimenting with AI. Today, the conversation is very different.

What has really changed is the level of expectation. With MIT revealing that 95 per cent of enterprise AI pilots fail, clients are no longer looking for isolated use cases or efficiencies at the margins. They want to truly redesign how their entire business and marketing systems works, using AI to connect their data, their media, their creativity, and their commerce in a much more integrated way.

At the same time, AI is exposing where real competitive advantage sits. Technology is becoming widely accessible to everyone which means that, on its own, it is no longer a differentiator. If everyone is using similar models, they will get very similar answers. The difference comes from the data: its quality, how well it is structured, and how effectively it can be connected and activated across the organisation is what will separate leaders from the rest. This is also forcing more fundamental questions for marketers, who need to very seriously consider not just how they use their data, but how they govern it, and how they continue to retain full control over it.

How are you preparing and supporting clients around the impact of agentic AI?

Most clients want change, but AI is accelerating faster than many structures can adapt, pushing existing systems and ways of working to the brink.

That’s where our role as a connective tissue comes in. We help clients move beyond silos and connect capabilities across the full customer journey, so AI is driving more consistent decisioning.

At the same time, we focus on data and identity, because agentic AI is only as powerful as the data behind it. That means helping clients build a clear, unified view of the consumer, in a privacy-first environment.

We are also redesigning workflows. The real opportunity with agentic AI is to shorten the distance between insight and action. That means changing how planning, production and activation work together, so decisions can happen faster and in some cases in real time. 

Underpinning all of this is discipline. The risk with all of this is that you scale activity, rather than performance. Everything we build is tied back to very clear objectives. Our role is to help clients put the right systems, data, and operating models in place so AI can deliver business impact.

How do you try to prepare to lead when geopolitically things are absolutely nuts from one week to the next? Do you have a way of readying to react?

If the last few years have shown us one thing, it’s that we shouldn’t try to manage the unmanageable. Uncertainty is the environment in which we are all operating today. In that context, our role is to stay extremely clear on our priorities: putting the safety and well-being of our people and their families first, and staying closer than ever to our clients’ businesses so we can help them navigate whatever comes next.

What are you most looking forward to in the coming months and why is it important

France reaching the World Cup final… "Jamais deux sans trois", as we say here.

What one question would you ask your peer CEOs right now?

Is everyone ok? 😉

What would you like to have been if you weren’t doing this job?

Before advertising, I thought I might become a prosecutor. I have always believed it is important to have many lives in one life, so perhaps there is still a chance. The only problem is that my daughter, who is studying law, has already informed me that I do not have what it takes. She is more of an expert than me on that front, so she is almost certainly right. As usual!

With the ongoing adoption of AI, how have conversations around creativity and brand building changed this last year?

We have all heard the question of whether creative talent will be replaced by AI. The answer is of course not. What AI can do is remove some of the friction in the process, whether that is in conception, presentation or production, and that gives creative people more freedom to focus on the idea.

For brands, this changes the conversation in a useful way. It is no longer enough to ask whether a campaign is high-quality or well-crafted. The real question is whether creativity is connected to the broader business system in the right way. That’s why in the last year we’ve invested in measurement capabilities, most recently Adge.AI.

Which one campaign from your business are you most proud of from the last 12 months and what does it say about the business offer?

It’s always difficult to single out one piece of work, but if pushed, and because France is Country of the Year at the Cannes Lions, I’d have to say the body of work we’ve done with AXA over the past year is a strong example of our approach. From 'Nothing Stops Women’s Rugby', which made AXA the first brand to partner with women’s rugby at every level in France, to “Three Words”, where AXA added “and domestic violence” to its insurance policies to provide real support to victims, the work shows how creativity can drive tangible change. At our best, we help clients use creativity, boosted by data and technology, to drive meaningful impact for their business and for the people they serve.