PepsiCo has begun a search for agency partners to lead an artificial intelligence overhaul across its global operations, from marketing and consumer insights to supply chain management. The review opens a path for agencies to pitch technology services beyond traditional advertising, with the potential for long-term contracts that could reshape how the food and beverage giant develops products and reaches shoppers.
Sources familiar with the process said the company's goal is to integrate AI for competitive advantage, not just efficiency gains. The search is expected to draw interest from management consultancies, ad holding companies, and specialized AI firms.
What PepsiCo wants from agency partners
The company is looking to transform how it uses artificial intelligence across its entire brand portfolio. The scope extends well beyond creative campaigns and media buying into data analytics, consumer insights, and operational infrastructure. For agencies, this represents a chance to establish a new kind of partnership with a major advertiser-one built on technological delivery rather than campaign output alone.
The competition also raises a practical question: which firms have the capabilities and experience to deliver AI solutions at scale. Brands increasingly demand technical expertise from their agency partners, and this review will test how many can credibly offer it.
A signal for the agency business
The move reflects a broader shift in what marketers expect from their external partners. PepsiCo is not simply refreshing its agency roster. It is opening the door for firms to propose services that blend AI for Marketing with operational and data infrastructure work. That blurring of lines between consultancy, tech vendor, and agency is accelerating across the industry.
For marketing leaders watching this process, the takeaway is clear: agencies that cannot demonstrate AI fluency risk being locked out of the most valuable client relationships. The firms that win will likely be those that can show both strategic thinking and hands-on implementation ability.
Why this matters for marketing professionals
PepsiCo's AI search is a concrete signal of where large-brand budgets are heading. Marketing leaders who want to lead these conversations inside their own organizations need fluency in how AI applies across the full value chain-not just ad creative or targeting. The AI Learning Path for CMOs offers structured training for executives who need to evaluate AI partners, ask the right technical questions, and build internal capabilities that match what firms like PepsiCo are now demanding from the outside.
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