The short answer.
Publicis Sapient is a holdco-owned digital transformation consultancy and product engineering practice. They run enterprise programs with AI as one component of a larger transformation.
Average Robot is a change management firm for the AI transformation of the workplace. We diagnose why AI investment is not converting into value and design the people, process, and platform strategy to fix it. The deliverable is alignment, not a multi-year program.
One runs the transformation. The other gets a team unstuck inside one.
Who they are.
Publicis Sapient operates at enterprise scale with global delivery and deep integration into the Publicis network of agencies. Strong on multi-year programs, large platform builds, and end-to-end transformation. Their transformation work is published at publicissapient.com.
The model is consultancy-shaped. Senior partners, large delivery teams, structured methodology. Best on Fortune 500 work where the brief is the whole operating model.
Who we are.
Average Robot is a San Francisco-based change management firm founded by Matt Perry, a former marketing and brand leader, with Rob Cannon, PhD, a behavioral scientist focused on workforce adoption of AI.
We are independent, mid-market focused, and built around the AI-at-work problem. We run a 3P diagnostic across people, process, and platform, then design a roadmap your team will actually use.
Where each of us wins.
Pick Publicis Sapient when
- You are running a multi-year enterprise transformation.
- The brief spans platforms, operating model, and global delivery.
- You need a large bench and structured consultancy methodology.
- Success is measured at the operating-model level over years.
Pick Average Robot when
- You are mid-market and need speed without the overhead.
- The bottleneck is adoption inside a specific team or function.
- You want named senior people leading the work.
- Success is measured in months, not years.
How the engagements differ.
A Publicis Sapient engagement looks like a transformation program. Multi-workstream, multi-year, large delivery team. The artifact is a re-shaped operating model.
An Average Robot engagement looks like change work. AI Alignment Snapshot (free), AI Alignment Playbook (from $4,999), AI Alignment Partnership (custom). Senior-led, mid-market sized.
Questions people ask.
Is Average Robot a transformation consultancy like Publicis Sapient?
No. Publicis Sapient runs enterprise digital transformation programs with AI as one component. Average Robot is a focused change management firm. We diagnose AI adoption across people, process, and platform inside mid-market organizations. We do not run multi-year transformation programs.
When should we hire Publicis Sapient instead?
When the brief is a multi-year, multi-workstream enterprise transformation - new platforms, new operating model, hundreds of people in delivery. Hire us when the AI tools are largely in place and adoption inside a specific team or function is the bottleneck.
Is Publicis Sapient too heavy for mid-market?
Often yes. The model is optimized for large programs and global delivery. Mid-market teams usually need something faster, lighter, and more specialist. That is the gap Average Robot fills.
Can a holdco-owned consultancy be objective about AI tools?
Publicis Sapient sits inside the Publicis network. That brings reach but also incentives. Average Robot is independent and does not resell platforms.