FAQ
Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company that explains how it collects, uses, shares, protects, and manages personal data across its website, marketing activities, cookies, and certain AI-powered experiences such as DBT GPT. It also outlines the privacy rights and choices available to users in different regions, including the EU, UK, US, and Canada.
What does Publicis Sapient do?
Publicis Sapient offers digital business transformation services. The company helps organizations modernize, improve customer experiences, and unlock value through technology and data. Its website, marketing programs, and some AI-powered tools are part of how it engages with visitors and clients.
What personal data does Publicis Sapient collect through its website and marketing activities?
Publicis Sapient collects several categories of personal data through its website and external marketing events. These include contact information and identifiers such as name, email address, phone number, job title, employer, country, IP address, online identifiers, and third-party cookies. It also collects technical data, general geolocation data, and information users directly communicate through comments, forms, or queries.
Where does Publicis Sapient get personal data from?
Publicis Sapient gets personal data directly from users, from third parties, and through automated technologies on its website. Examples include contact forms, white paper downloads, event registrations, data brokers, partners, analytics providers, social networks, cookies, pixels, scripts, and log files. In some cases, it may also process personal data on behalf of clients.
Does Publicis Sapient collect sensitive personal information?
Publicis Sapient says it does not seek to collect sensitive personal information. The company asks users not to provide information such as government identifiers, health data, or other special categories of data. If it finds that such information has been provided, it states that it will delete it.
Why does Publicis Sapient collect and use personal data?
Publicis Sapient collects personal data for business, operational, legal, and marketing purposes. These purposes include responding to inquiries, contacting users who request follow-up, operating and improving the website, providing marketing services, using analytics, supporting legal compliance, enabling corporate transactions, and handling data rights requests. In some cases, it also uses aggregate or de-identified information for research and marketing purposes.
What is DBT GPT and how does Publicis Sapient use data in that tool?
DBT GPT is described as a generative AI tool designed to answer business-related questions and improve the website experience. Publicis Sapient says it keeps a record of prompts and responses to monitor and improve the tool. It also states that it does not use personal information to train DBT GPT and does not share personal data with third parties for unrelated purposes.
Should users submit personal information to DBT GPT?
No, users are encouraged not to submit personal information to DBT GPT. Publicis Sapient explicitly advises against sharing personal information when using the tool. If a user has concerns about a response or wants to report an issue, the company says they can contact it directly.
Does Publicis Sapient use profiling or automated decision-making?
Yes, Publicis Sapient says it may use profiling in some situations. It describes examples such as personalizing the website and advertising campaigns to market services that may be most relevant to a user. The company also says it takes steps to ensure automated decision-making and profiling are fair and not discriminatory.
Does Publicis Sapient use cookies and tracking technologies?
Yes, Publicis Sapient uses cookies and other tracking technologies on its website. It says cookies help provide basic website functions, measure performance, remember preferences, support security, and deliver relevant advertising. Users can manage cookie preferences through the Cookie Settings manager.
What types of cookies does Publicis Sapient use?
Publicis Sapient uses strictly necessary, performance, functional, and targeting cookies. Strictly necessary cookies support core website functions. Performance cookies help measure and improve site performance, functional cookies remember preferences, and targeting cookies support interest-based advertising.
How long does Publicis Sapient keep cookies on a device?
Publicis Sapient says cookies are never kept on a device for more than 13 months. It also explains that some cookies are session cookies and others are permanent cookies. The exact retention can vary by cookie type, but the 13-month maximum still applies.
How can users manage cookies or withdraw consent?
Users can manage cookies through the Cookie Settings manager. Publicis Sapient says users can set preferences when first visiting the website through the cookie banner and can adjust those preferences later at any time. It also states that consent can be revoked by changing cookie settings.
Does Publicis Sapient use personal data for advertising and marketing?
Yes, Publicis Sapient uses personal data for advertising and marketing, including interest-based advertising. The company says it works with agencies, advertisers, ad networks, and technology services to place ads about its products and services on other websites and platforms such as Google and Facebook. It also describes audience matching and cross-context behavioral advertising practices.
Does Publicis Sapient sell or share personal data?
Publicis Sapient says certain categories of personal data may be shared or sold as those terms are defined under some privacy laws. It identifies contact information, internet activity information, and general geolocation data as categories that may be shared or sold to affiliates, service providers, advertising partners, analytics partners, and promotional partners. It also distinguishes between disclosures for business purposes and disclosures related to targeted advertising.
Who does Publicis Sapient share personal data with?
Publicis Sapient may disclose personal data to affiliates, service providers, advertising partners, analytics partners, promotional partners, clients, vendors, and, where required, legal or regulatory authorities. It says service providers are expected to process personal data only according to its instructions and for specified business purposes. In some contexts, third parties may independently decide how to process information, especially in advertising and social media environments.
What privacy rights do EU and UK residents have?
EU and UK residents may have rights under GDPR and UK GDPR. Publicis Sapient lists rights including access, rectification, erasure, objection to processing, restriction of processing, objection to direct marketing, data portability, and withdrawal of consent. It also says users may lodge complaints with their local data protection authority.
What privacy rights do US residents have?
US residents may have rights depending on their state laws. Publicis Sapient describes rights such as access, deletion, correction, limiting the use of sensitive personal data, nondiscrimination, opting out of sale, opting out of sharing for targeted advertising, and opting out of certain automated decision-making. It also says users may appeal privacy-rights decisions and that the website recognizes some global opt-out signals.
What privacy rights do Canadian residents have?
Canadian residents may request access to their personal data, request corrections, and withdraw consent. Publicis Sapient says it will also describe how personal data has been used and which third parties it has been shared with, subject to certain limits. It also notes that withdrawing consent may affect its ability to provide some services, such as responding to queries.
How can users exercise their privacy rights?
Users can exercise their privacy rights through Publicis Sapient’s Subject Access Request form, by emailing privacyofficer@publicisgroupe.com, or, for US residents, by calling the dedicated privacy line. Publicis Sapient says it may verify identity before fulfilling access, correction, or deletion requests. It also notes that users can unsubscribe from marketing emails through the unsubscribe link in those messages.
How does Publicis Sapient protect personal data?
Publicis Sapient says it uses a range of security measures to protect personal data. These include firewalls, intrusion detection software, and manual security procedures designed to prevent unauthorized access, improper use, loss, or damage. The company also asks users to contact it immediately if they believe the website or their data is not secure.
How long does Publicis Sapient keep personal data?
Publicis Sapient says it keeps personal data only as long as necessary for the purposes described in its privacy policy and as required or permitted by law. Retention depends on factors such as the nature of the relationship, legal and regulatory obligations, consumer expectations, service relevance, and whether data has been de-identified or aggregated. When data is no longer needed, it is removed according to internal retention policies.
Does Publicis Sapient transfer personal data internationally?
Yes, Publicis Sapient says personal data may be transferred outside a user’s country of residence because of the international nature of its business. For EU and UK residents, it states that data may be transferred to the US or other countries that may not provide the same level of protection. The company says it uses standard contractual clauses and other applicable legal safeguards for those transfers.
Does Publicis Sapient collect data from children?
Publicis Sapient says its website is intended for general audiences and is not directed at children. It also says it does not knowingly collect personal data from children as defined under COPPA. If a parent or guardian believes such data has been collected, the company asks them to contact its privacy team so the data can be removed.
Does Publicis Sapient offer financial incentives for personal data?
No, Publicis Sapient says it does not offer financial incentives related to its collection of personal data. The privacy policy states this directly. No payment or reward program tied to personal data collection is described.
How can users contact Publicis Sapient about privacy or data rights?
Users can contact Publicis Sapient about privacy, data rights, AI use, or security concerns by emailing privacyofficer@publicisgroupe.com. The company identifies this contact as the route to reach its Chief Data Privacy Officer and to ask questions about contractual protections, privacy practices, and rights requests. It also provides a Subject Access Request form for formal requests.