Estee Lauder develops generative AI with Microsoft

A leading global cosmetics conglomerate is getting into the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) solutions.

The Estée Lauder Companies and Microsoft Corp. are creating an AI Innovation Lab as an expansion of their global strategic relationship which began in 2017. Leveraging generative AI capabilities in Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service, the companies will work together to develop solutions for Estee Lauder’s more than 20 beauty brands.

This expanded global strategic relationship, which also includes a jointly developed voice-enabled makeup assistant app rolling out to new markets this year, will focus on generative AI use cases including:

• Faster response and execution to social trends and consumer demands: Estee Lauder and Microsoft have created an internal-facing generative AI chatbot that utilizes advanced conversational AI technology to more efficiently leverage Estee Lauder’s proprietary database of product and claim data to support locally relevant marketing campaigns.
• Faster and more effective product innovation: The two companies are applying generative AI tools in research and development to enable quicker product development, intended to allow scientists and product development specialists to respond to emerging product and ingredient trends more rapidly.

“At Estee Lauder, technology is always in support of our enduring strengths of high-quality products and high-touch consumer experiences,” said Jane Lauder, executive VP, enterprise marketing, and chief data officer, The Estée Lauder Companies. “With Microsoft’s generative AI tools and extensive expertise, we are able to leverage our tremendous data to create more personalized consumer experiences and faster insights to action resulting in increased speed to market and stronger local relevancy.”

"Generative AI represents a significant opportunity for the beauty industry — creating more engaging customer experiences, getting products into the hands of consumers faster, developing new products more efficiently and sustainably, and much more," said Shelley Bransten, corporate VP, global industry solutions, Microsoft. "We’re proud to collaborate with The Estée Lauder Companies to provide not only a platform for AI innovation, but also deep partnership to bring these new innovations to life."

The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. sells products in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, and the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD.