Amid the AI frenzy dominating panels and beachfront activations at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Publicis Groupe has taken a bold, self-aware step: using AI to call out the overuse—and misuse—of AI.
Enter “BSBot”: an internally developed artificial intelligence tool designed to scan speeches, presentations, and press releases for buzzwords, fluff, and exaggerated claims related to artificial intelligence. Its purpose? To expose hollow jargon, vague promises, and marketing smoke screens.
BSBot listens in on talks across the festival, live-scores them, and flags moments of inflated rhetoric. It then displays the results publicly on a digital dashboard, offering a real-time “BS Index” for AI-related language.
The move is both a marketing stunt and a statement: Publicis is placing itself above the AI hype while still firmly within the conversation. It’s a meta-commentary wrapped in clever tech—positioning the group as both innovator and critic.
As Cannes continues to be flooded with generative AI demos and lofty promises, Publicis’s bot is doing what few are willing to: holding a mirror to the industry’s favorite obsession.
