In today’s fast-paced world, staying ahead means embracing change, and Interpublic Group (IPG) is doing just that by boosting its tech game. They’ve brought on Yaniv Sarig as the global head of AI commerce, aiming to seamlessly integrate agentic AI into their strategies. This isn’t just a one-off move; it’s part of a growing trend where agencies are creating top-tier AI roles to stay competitive. Just recently, Stagwell named John Kahan, who’s got experience from IBM and Microsoft, as their Chief AI Officer. Monks followed suit by promoting Wesley ter Haar to a similar position.
Yaniv Sarig, who co-founded Aterian, is set to weave an AI “backbone” throughout IPG’s operations. The focus? Agentic AI applications. Agencies have historically struggled to attract top tech talent, but Sarig’s appointment, following his consulting role, ensures his expertise stays in-house. Jeriad Zoghby, IPG’s head of commerce strategy, highlighted this as a crucial move.
The demand for AI chiefs is on the rise, becoming essential for agencies eyeing lucrative accounts. These leaders are crucial in driving internal transformations and appealing to clients. Stagwell’s Kahan pointed out that achieving financial goals today relies more on technology than people. “You don’t do that with people. You do that with technology,” he said.
Nicole Denman, a Gartner analyst, noted that the increase in AI leadership roles shows agencies need a comprehensive AI strategy. These positions are vital for spearheading initiatives that keep agencies competitive in a digital-first world. While their titles might sound grand, Sarig and Kahan will focus on providing strategic guidance within their agencies.
Kahan’s role involves steering the Stagwell Marketing Cloud, similar to IPG’s Axciom and Publicis Groupe’s CoreAI. He’ll lead until CEO Elspeth Rollert returns from maternity leave, advancing the group’s AI strategies with a focus on agentic systems. “If I’m successful, I enable our agencies to do more with less,” Kahan remarked.
Both Sarig and Kahan stress the importance of agentic AI, aligning with the marketing industry’s current tech pursuits. According to Denman, “Agentic AI tools carry the potential to help agencies realize their vision for generative AI to increase productivity.”
In IPG’s case, Sarig focuses on practical commerce applications of AI. He’s currently working with Kinesso on projects for a food and beverage brand and a personal care advertiser, though the clients remain unnamed. Sarig’s role involves integrating AI into client e-commerce strategies, leveraging data from Intelligence Node, an e-commerce data firm acquired in December.
The vast data collected on brand presence and user behavior requires machine assistance for effective analysis and application. “The only way they’re going to deal with that scale is with agentic systems,” Zoghby added. Sarig believes agentic AI will revolutionize decision-making in client investments, allowing real-time market insights instead of retrospective analyses.
