Since early 2023, I have typically spent hours each week researching, reading and experimenting with AI tools. That all changed a few weeks ago with a family bereavement, and breaking the habit has really brought home to me the level of anxiety and reactive posture much of the media and marketing world still holds about AI.

The flood of announcements, packed with technical terminology, jargon and buzzwords is simply overwhelming. In a mere fortnight, I had missed three new large language model developments, new reasoning capabilities, new autonomous AI agents, new players entering the market, and a significant new piece of AI legislation. That sense of playing catch up against an accelerating juggernaut is one I hear from across the industry while curating Unmade’s AI conference Humain, and I have renewed empathy for that sense of running just to stand still.

One reason the AI transformation has been unevenly applied across the creative industries is that many of these developments need layers of adaptation and translation before they can add value to an organisation. Many tools are simply not fit for purpose. A development that should cause the advertising world to pay close attention, however, is the update to Publicis Groupe’s AI strategy, released along with the announcement that the French holdco is to acquire data platform Lotame.

Publicis Groupe’s new mantra—“Connect or Die”—isn’t just marketing bravado; it’s a stark warning to brands, agencies, and media alike. The announcement didn’t get the attention I believe was merited.

The advertising behemoth has made a $12 billion bet on AI-powered marketing, with a decade long........

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