Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) and Microsoft have expanded their global strategic partnership with the launch of an AI Innovation Lab to foster closer consumer connections and increase speed to market with local relevance.

The lab will utilise Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service to develop solutions for ELC's portfolio of over 20 prestige beauty brands. The companies have already created an internal-facing generative AI chatbot to enhance marketing effectiveness globally. This chatbot employs advanced conversational AI technology to navigate ELC's proprietary and extensive database of product and claim data.

"At ELC, technology is always in support of our enduring strengths of high-quality products and high-touch consumer experiences," said The Estée Lauder Companies EVP, Enterprise Marketing, and chief data officer, Jane Lauder. "With Microsoft's generative AI tools and extensive expertise, we are able to leverage ELC's tremendous data to create more personalised consumer experiences and faster insights to action resulting in increased speed to market and stronger local relevancy. We look forward to continuing our close and collaborative partnership with Microsoft."

Generative AI tools are also being used in research and development for quicker product development. The strategic relationship between ELC and Microsoft began in 2017. ELC used Azure AI as the platform for its Voice-Enabled Makeup Assistant, a mobile app launched in early 2023 to assist visually impaired users in applying makeup.

"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 Microsoft corporate vice president, Global Industry Solutions, Shelley Bransten. "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."