Automate The Mundane, Elevate The Human: Inside Publicis Sapient's AI Strategy

Teresa Barrera, Global Chief Communication and Marketing Officer for Publicis Sapient, discusses her philosophy of "no random acts of AI," emphasizing that technology should not be deployed for its own sake but rather to intentionally transform work, functions, and businesses. She argues that AI, like any other transformation, starts with people and that simply adding AI to broken workflows will only accelerate inefficiencies. Her firm, Publicis Sapient, a multi-billion dollar technology arm of the Publicis group, has evolved its approach to digital business transformation, moving beyond just the digital aspect to encompass the entire business process. This perspective was shaped by both client experiences and internal operations. Barrera shares an example of working with McDonald's, illustrating that while creating an app for food delivery is easy, the true transformation lies in ensuring the entire cooking and delivery workflow aligns to deliver quality, non-soggy food. Internally, her team embarked on a journey to transform marketing, initially aiming for full autonomy with an AI system that could manage campaigns from idea to deployment. However, they discovered that while the technology was present, it lacked context and produced generic content, leading to low adoption. This led to the realization that technology alone is insufficient; the process, the work itself, and bringing the team along are crucial. The team subsequently broke down marketing into approximately 900 tasks, rethinking workflows and processes. They then empowered team members to develop AI assistants for specific tasks, recognizing that AI excels at tasks, not necessarily replacing entire jobs. Barrera's approach encourages employees to focus on high-value tasks that only humans can do, while leveraging AI for low-value, tactical tasks. For instance, an AI agent could handle onerous tasks like email management and scheduling, freeing up human time for research and strategic conversations. The best people to build these assistants are those who know the job well. Barrera's team, for example, built over 100 assistants, with the initial 80% of development taking just five minutes, but the remaining 20%—involving human feedback and refinement—taking weeks. This process ensures the agents become highly proficient. Publicis Sapient has adopted a "people plus product" model, building AI platforms that help clients innovate, modernize, and sustain technology. These platforms are paired with their people's expertise, with knowledge and context from every client problem being codified back into the platform, creating a compounding effect of learning and evolution. Internally, Barrera transformed her team into "builders," empowering them to create these assistants. While initial assistants handle individual tasks, when integrated into an agentic platform and connected to form workflows, they can create autonomous agents for content, branding, or lead nurturing. Barrera clarifies that this transformation is not about efficiency or cost reduction, but about growth—refocusing time on activities that drive the highest growth. Savings from automation are reinvested into areas like innovation and incubation. She introduced "innovation incubators" three years ago, predating the current AI surge. This function dedicates 20% of the team's time to exploring future trends, while 80% focuses on current operations. Any team member can submit ideas to the incubator, which then evaluates and greenlights them, ensuring the main functions remain focused on daily business. Barrera also fosters a culture of exploration and risk-taking, inspired by her Portuguese heritage. She gives an "award for failure" quarterly, recognizing those who fail fastest and learn the most. Initially met with reluctance, this award now encourages team members to experiment and grow. Other initiatives include "Failing Fridays," where the team discusses failures, and "AI Thursdays," dedicated to sharing AI learnings. On the first Thursday of every month, "Pause for Learning" involves an entire day off, starting with technology and AI learning, followed by self-directed exploration. Growing up in a small village and managing her parents' small business from a young age, Barrera learned resilience and the importance of experimenting. She also values open dialogue and embracing different opinions, a lesson from her childhood in a cafe where debates were common. This led to her team's phrase, "Let's put the fish on the table," encouraging open discussion of challenges. Reflecting on her career, Barrera's first job at IBM taught her the soft skill of being a great storyteller and the hard skill of being a proficient marketer, particularly in product marketing. She learned to "sell with your ears, not with your mouth," focusing on the outcome and value of a product rather than its technical aspects. IBM's culture of frequent job rotations instilled adaptability and the importance of standing out in a large organization. She left IBM, her "first love," to experience new things, moving to a startup and then Accenture, where she learned to prioritize and say no effectively. Her first C-suite role at Deloitte reinforced that clients care about solving problems, not just technology. Today, Barrera emphasizes the importance of making brave decisions and having the courage to pursue non-obvious paths. She aims to instill a "challenger mindset" in her team, questioning the status quo and asking difficult questions, especially in the age of AI, where creativity and innovation will increasingly come from humans and their unique experiences. Looking back, she would advise her 17-year-old self to "be yourself," embrace her unique background, and not try to change, recognizing her distinctiveness as a "superpower." Looking forward, Barrera hopes that in a year, Publicis Sapient and her team will have completely changed how work and marketing are done, redefining what it means to be a marketer in the age of AI.