Publicis Groupe just added another item to its AI shopping cart, acquiring Israel-based AdgeAI for an undisclosed price—funded from the $970 million deal budget it’s set aside for 2026. AdgeAI is a predictive creative analytics platform that uses machine learning to forecast which parts of an ad (video, images, text, GIFs) are most likely to drive engagement and business outcomes, with prior work spanning brands like Google and Underoutfit.
AdgeAI will be folded into Publicis Production, aiming to turn creative performance analysis into something clients can act on in real time rather than after the post-mortem. The AdgeAI co-founders—CEO Eyal Ben Shalom and CTO Asaf Ben Shalom—stay in charge, reporting to Deepti Velury, CEO of Publicis Production, and the product keeps its name (always nice when the acquired company doesn’t get sent to the branding witness protection program).
Zooming out, this is another step in Publicis’ broader AI and data build-up after buying Lotame and Moov AI in 2025 and rolling out its CoreAI operating system in 2024. The company says it’s investing $326 million internally in AI tools and training from 2024 through the end of 2026, and CEO Arthur Sadoun previously told Adweek that 73% of Publicis’ operating model is now “AI-powered.” Meanwhile, the competitive pressure isn’t subtle—WPP and Omnicom are also ramping AI capabilities, with WPP working with Google to bring Gemini into its stack.
Read more at AdWeek.