WPP and Google extend five-year pact to push AI-driven marketing at scale
WPP and Google have agreed a five-year expansion of their partnership focused on cloud and AI, with a $US400 million commitment from WPP to Google technologies. The deal was confirmed in Mountain View during meetings between WPP CEO Cindy Rose, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian and their leadership teams. It supports WPP's plan to embed AI across creative, production, media, experience and commerce via WPP Open, aiming for real-time personalisation at massive scale and growth beyond efficiency gains.
Why this matters for marketers
- Early access to Google's latest AI models (including Gemini, Veo and Imagen) within WPP Open, enabling asset production in days instead of weeks.
- Reported outcomes include up to 70% efficiency gains and a 2.5x increase in asset utilisation for participating clients.
- Privacy-first data collaboration and rapid development of brand-specific AI models to support creative, media and commerce.
- Preferred access to Google AI innovations to keep pace with new creative formats and workflows.
Inside the deal
The $US400 million spend will fuel WPP's AI roadmap and sits alongside its ongoing £300 million per year investment in AI and technology. WPP will fold Google's latest models into WPP Open for integrated planning, production and activation.
The WPP Creative Technology Apprenticeship will grow, with Google as primary curriculum partner. Building on 50+ permanent placements since 2022, the program targets training 1,000+ early-career creative technologists by 2030.
Leadership context
Cindy Rose recently stepped in as WPP CEO amid restructuring, negative growth, a weak share price and staff pushback on a return-to-office mandate. She positioned the partnership as a way to deliver bespoke AI solutions and hyper-relevant campaigns at new levels of speed and scale.
Thomas Kurian highlighted a shared vision for generative and agentic AI to improve business outcomes. Lorraine Twohill noted ongoing collaboration on Gemini-built tools across video, image and model development, plus operational improvements inside WPP.
What to do next (practical playbook)
- Data readiness: Map consented first-party data, clean room options and model inputs. Define what can be activated safely and what requires legal review.
- Creative production: Stand up an AI asset pipeline for video and imagery (prompt libraries, brand style guides, review gates, rights checks).
- Pilots: Select two brands or product lines for 90-day tests across creative, media and commerce. Timebox experiments and compare markets with/without AI workflows.
- Measurement: Track lift in qualified reach, CAC, conversion rate, AOV and LTV-not just cost savings. Tie creative variants to sales outcomes.
- Governance: Update briefing, approvals, disclosure, bias checks and IP guidelines for synthetic media and data collaboration.
- Team skills: Upskill brand, media, creative and analytics teams on prompt craft, model limits and QA. Pair specialists with product owners to ship fast.
Key capabilities to watch
- Generative video (Veo) and image (Imagen) scaled for brand-safe workflows and global markets.
- Privacy-first data collaboration that connects creative testing with media optimisation without exposing PII.
- Faster bespoke model development for category nuances, regulated products and language coverage.
Risks and safeguards
- Brand safety: Require human review on high-impact assets and set guardrails for prompts and outputs.
- IP and licensing: Track training data policies, usage rights and model output provenance.
- Compliance: Align with jurisdictional rules on data use, disclosures and advertising standards.
Level up your team
If your marketing org is gearing up for AI-driven creative and media, structured training shortens the learning curve. Explore an applied program for marketers here: AI Certification for Marketing Specialists.
Learn more about Google's AI model ecosystem here: Google Gemini.
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