Microsoft and Publicis Groupe have expanded their strategic partnership to develop an AI-powered, full-stack marketing solution focused on agentic AI. The collaboration has aimed to unify legacy systems, AI agents and identity-based data to improve marketing outcomes.
The companies have built on their earlier collaboration, including the creation of Marcel, to integrate AI across marketing workflows. As per the announcement, the partnership has focused on enabling marketers to connect business investments with measurable outcomes while adapting to evolving consumer behaviour.
The expanded partnership has included the use of cloud infrastructure and AI tools. Publicis Sapient’s Slingshot framework has leveraged Microsoft Azure to support migration from legacy systems and establish cloud-native environments for AI adoption. Sapient AI solutions have integrated tools such as Microsoft Copilot Studio and other Microsoft AI offerings to embed AI into business processes. The Bodhi platform has enabled deployment of enterprise-grade AI agents across marketing, commerce and operations.
The companies have also focused on an identity-based data model through Epsilon, which has combined customer data, media and marketing intelligence. AI agents built on Microsoft Fabric and powered by Epsilon have been designed to analyse data, automate campaign execution and optimise performance in real time within defined parameters.
As part of the agreement, Publicis Groupe has rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot to its workforce and has selected Azure as a preferred cloud provider. The company has also been appointed as Microsoft’s global media agency of record, with both firms working on joint solutions to connect audience data, signals and performance metrics.
“Ten years ago with Microsoft we co-created Marcel, marketing’s first AI platform,” said Arthur Sadoun, CEO, Publicis Groupe. “Now we’re partnering again to shape the industry, this time as our clients confront the dynamics of the agentic era. Together, we are combining Microsoft’s unmatched technology and AI capabilities with Publicis Sapient’s transformation expertise on top of Epsilon’s industry-leading identity data to deliver agentic solutions that are truly game-changing for clients. Both our companies believe that the future of AI requires agents in service of people and humanity, and with this partnership we are creating a unique opportunity for our clients to lead against this ambition.”
“This partnership reflects our belief that AI must do more to serve humanity by empowering creativity and innovation,” said Judson Althoff, CEO of Microsoft’s commercial business. “By bringing Microsoft’s cloud and AI capabilities together with Publicis Groupe Solutions built on Azure, we are giving creatives and makers the freedom to spend less time on repetitive execution and more time shaping ideas, building brands and driving meaningful growth for our customers.”
