Case study: The AA & Publicis Sapient, Digital Technology Leaders Awards finalist

AI and BI democratised data access across the estate

The AA’s internal teams - including business analysts, trading and product teams and executives - were encountering inefficiencies due to fragmented reporting systems and a reliance on specialists for routine data queries, leading to challenges with accuracy, timeliness and governance in reporting processes.

Publicis Sapient’s challenge was to implement a tool that enabled non-technical users to independently access performance insights swiftly, aiming to reduce routine data requests by 50% weekly and ensure high response accuracy.

Using AI and BI technology to democratise data access, the company enabled non-technical users to query data using plain language. Integration with a popular communication platform provided familiar and seamless access, removing the need for complex dashboards or coding expertise.

Crucially, the solution was optimised by utilising existing infrastructure and advanced AI/BI technology, minimising additional costs.

Implementation process:

1. Selected and set up the AI/BI solution.
2. Connected to data sources using a unified data catalogue.
3. Provided instructions, including business terminology and calculation methods.
4. Added example queries.
5. Validated output against existing data.
6. Integrated the solution within a communication platform to ensure easy access.

Challenges and solutions:

Fragmented reporting systems: Delayed decision-making due to reliance on specialists.

• Solution: Empowered non-technical users to self-serve analytics, reducing dependency on data specialists.

Data freshness and integration issues: Delays and integration challenges with external data sources.

• Solution: Used advanced data integration tools for seamless data management, ensuring timely and accurate insights.

Outcomes and benefits:

• Improved productivity: Analysis time reduced significantly, freeing up teams for strategic initiatives.
• Enhanced data accessibility: Data access democratised across the organisation, allowing insights for all employees.
• Consistent and reliable insights: Ensured consistency in business logic across departments, providing reliable insights.
• Empowered decision-making: Enabled independent, informed decision-making, facilitating smarter business strategies.
• Integration and ease of use: Seamless integration overcame resistance by embedding data access within daily workflows.
• Scalability and strategic focus: Reduced the technical team's query support burden, allowing focus on strategic projects.
• Future-proofing: Planned integration with machine learning capabilities to introduce forecasting features.

Achievements:

1. Successfully integrated the new AI tool into the communication platform.
2. Established documentation and framework for scalability.
3. Enabled immediate data access and performance insights for executives.
4. The tool handled a significant portion of user requests (70%) with high accuracy (90%).
5. Achieved notable time savings across various teams.

The integration of advanced AI technology has transformed operations by democratising data access and enhancing business intelligence accessibility. This solution automates BI queries, allowing teams to focus on strategic initiatives. The successful implementation demonstrates the solution's scalability and strategic advantage, positioning the organisation at the forefront of technological innovation with a user-centric approach ensuring widespread adoption and effectiveness.

The AA & Publicis Sapient are finalist in Computing's Digital Technology Leaders Awards.