Havas posted 2.5% organic growth and credited an AI-first strategy, joining Publicis in the same pitch. Every agency is about to tell you it is AI-first. Your job is to work out which ones actually are.
Havas has decided its story is now AI. The holding company, once lumped in with the agencies losing the AI narrative, posted 2.5% organic revenue growth in the second quarter, with North America up 6.4%, and raised its full-year guidance from 2% to 3%. Management is crediting an AI-first identity for the momentum.
Whether the AI is doing the work or the AI story is doing the selling is the open question. Either way, the holding companies have found their pitch, and it is the same pitch. We are the ones who figured out AI. Publicis said it. Now Havas is saying it. Expect the rest to follow.
Why it matters
If you are a marketer choosing or reviewing an agency, this matters, because "we are AI-first" is about to be said to you by every agency you meet. The phrase is doing a lot of work and proving very little. An agency that has genuinely rebuilt around AI looks different in its outputs, its speed and its pricing. An agency that has bolted the word onto the same old model looks exactly like it always did, with a new deck.
Havas grew North American organic revenue 6.4% in Q2 2026 and credits an AI-first strategy. Source: Havas via Adweek.
What to do about it
Every agency is about to be AI-first. Your job is to work out which ones actually are.