Unilever turns to AI for 'new era of shopping for brands'

Unilever is aiming to accelerate business transformation through its use of advanced AI, data, platform and next-generation marketing capabilities — and build a new model for how consumers discover and shop for brands — on the back of a new five-year deal with Google Cloud.

The partnership is designed to help drive growth and desirability for Unilever’s global brand portfolio — including brands Dove, Vaseline and Hellmann’s — using Google Cloud’s technologies, such as its enterprise AI platform, Vertex AI, to build new capabilities in measurement and AI-augmented marketing.

The ultimate aim is to create a new model for how it can get its brands in front of consumers, as marketing shifts towards more conversational and agentic experiences.

Unilever operates in over 190 countries worldwide with its products used by 3.7 billion people every day; its 2025 revenue reached €50.5bn.

By migrating its integrated data and cloud platform to Google Cloud, Unilever will build what it calls “a business-wide, AI-first digital backbone” to generate demand faster, turn data into actionable insights, and respond to market shifts with greater agility.

This foundation will also support the development of agentic workflows — intelligent systems capable of executing complex tasks across Unilever’s business processes.

Unilever chief supply chain and operations officer Willem Uijen said: “Technology has moved to the core of value creation at Unilever. As brands are increasingly discovered and chosen in environments shaped by AI, we must lead this shift.

“This collaboration with Google Cloud sets a new level in how technology can power commerce and growth in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, ensuring Unilever is agile, fit for the future, and equipped to unlock value at every level of the company.”

Google Cloud president EMEA Tara Brady added: “In partnering with Unilever as it boldly reimagines its business processes, we are not just modernising legacy systems; we are deploying our advanced models, such as Gemini, to create a system of intelligence that reasons, learns, and acts. This will set a new standard for agility and consumer engagement in the CPG sector.”

The packaged goods giant has also been working with Accenture since the 1990s but in 2024 signed a multi-year deal to build on a programme which was first launched in December 2023 to support the multinational’s AI implementation by enhancing productivity, driving efficiencies and accelerating innovation.

Since then, Unilever has focused efforts on identifying and testing new AI concepts, designs and projects from its Horizon3 Labs, and based in Toronto. It already has 500 AI applications in place.

Meanwhile, late last year, WPP revealed it has also signed a five-year expansion of its partnership with Google Cloud in a deal which the agency group claims will “cultivate the essential skills to transform marketing as we know it”.

The collaboration aims to revolutionise how brands approach integrated creative, production, media, experience, and commerce, enabling real-time personalisation for millions of customers simultaneously, and moving beyond traditional efficiency initiatives to unlock growth.