Unilever's newly established AI Horizon3 lab is leveraging AI and human creativity to drive innovation and growth across the business.

AI has already enhanced productivity and efficiency in many industries, from generative AI in marketing to advanced analytics and machine learning in the supply chain. But as we look to the future, how else can AI be utilized to optimize business outcomes?

To answer this question, multinational consumer goods company Unilever has established its first AI Horizon3 lab in Toronto, Canada. This center will serve as a dedicated institution to explore and harness the full potential of AI, foster innovation, and drive business growth.

Harnessing the Power of AI to Drive Innovation

The AI Horizon3 lab, established by Unilever's global operations data and analytics team, adopts a collaborative approach, with employees partnering with academia, startups, and industry leaders to undertake multiple AI research projects. This multifaceted collaboration will fuel a range of diverse AI research projects, all centered around a common theme: harnessing the power of AI to drive business innovation and growth.

By embracing emerging technologies and fostering collaboration, Unilever's AI Horizon3 lab is poised to revolutionize the company's operations through AI-driven innovation, propelling the company towards a future shaped by AI innovation.

Andy Hill, Chief Data Officer at Unilever, said, "Unilever has made significant investments in developing and deploying AI technologies. The launch of Unilever's first AI lab will accelerate the progress we have made globally and enable us to focus on some of the big questions we want to answer with AI."

"We are solving real problems through innovation, and establishing this lab in Toronto allows us to access vibrant tech talent and some of the best collaborators in the business," Hill added.

Focusing on Maximum Potential

The lab will initially prioritize three out of 15 areas with the most direct impact potential: prediction, graph technology for modeling complex data relationships, and generating insights about trends, patterns, and forecasts through GenAI.

Gary Bogdani, Director of Data Analytics for North America and Canada at Unilever, said, "We can talk about impact in two ways. First, the impact on projects currently in operation, and second, the long-term potential impact of new technologies."

Driving Growth and World-Class Talent

While GenAI has already established a significant presence at Unilever, the continuous evolution of this technology not only expands its scope but also deepens its impact. In the realm of consumer communication, Gen AI is particularly valuable, introducing new and more effective methods in content delivery and consumer engagement.

Although graph databases are a relatively new exploration area for Unilever, they provide opportunities for the company to tap into untapped potential.

Gary said, "These graph databases simplify the representation of complex data and offer many benefits, such as visual representations that facilitate data and relationship understanding. They can also drive recommendation engines by identifying connections between consumers and products, and support collaboration and social applications by effectively managing connections between users, posts, and interactions. These benefits apply to various aspects of the business, from sourcing materials to analyzing consumer behavior."

But these examples only scratch the surface of what will drive the Horizon3 lab. Another element is human intelligence and creativity.

Andy explained, "Our vision is to build an ecosystem of diverse thinking, collaborating with industry leaders, startups, academia, and visionary partners worldwide to create impactful solutions." He added that with technology and talent, the lab could become a powerful force for change.

"Our goal is to be architects of disruptive innovation, challenging the status quo, pushing the limits of possibility, and reshaping the way we conduct business," he concluded.