Intensifying focus on generative AI in India: Omnicom CTO Paolo Yuvienco

New Delhi: In an exclusive interview with BestMediaInfo.com at the recently concluded Cannes Lions in France, Paolo Yuvienco, Chief Technology Officer of Omnicom, revealed that the advertising giant has been intensifying its focus on generative AI capabilities over the past two years, particularly in India.

“Whether it’s utilising the platform and integrating the APIs from the large language models that are available or made available early on with our partnership strategy; Omnicom’s core data analytics gives us the ability to train and fine-tune these models,” he said. 

Highlighting what distinguishes Omnicom’s operating system from its competitors, Yuvienco stated, "Omni is arguably the first operating system among holding companies with the longest lifespan, encompassing a comprehensive data ecosystem that includes cultural behaviours, consumer behaviour, and performance data, as well as clients' first-party and transactional data. We have deployed it to over 50,000 employees across Omnicom, integrating it into every aspect of our business."

Yuvienco also noted that Omni has enabled Omnicom to swiftly implement generative AI capabilities throughout the advertising network's offices.

He then addressed marketers' hesitance in adopting new-age technologies and generative AI in their marketing functions. "They are both hesitant and anxious at the same time," he said. "While marketers want to deploy generative AI, they still have many questions about the legalities of these models, their ethical implications, and the accuracy of their outputs, as some generative AI models have recently produced inaccurate results."

To assist brands in their journey of deploying generative AI, Yuvienco explained that Omnicom creates specific guardrails around these models and fine-tunes them to ensure they are brand-safe. 

"Clients should view generative AI as a tool for enhancing effectiveness rather than just efficiency," Yuvienco added. "Technologies like generative AI will improve the effectiveness of the work we do for clients, and efficiency benefits will naturally follow."

Watch the full interview here:

Recently, Omnicom announced the expansion of its Global Solutions Centers of Excellence with the opening of three new campus locations in Bengaluru, Chennai, and Gurugram.

A fourth location will be opened in Hyderabad in October.

Aimed to accommodate Omnicom’s expanding footprint and global client solutions capabilities, they will house over 5,500 colleagues.