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MARKETING TECHNOLOGY
Unilever works to ensure it’s on the leading edge of the AI race
By our African Marketing Confederation News Team | 2026
FMCG giant Unilever and Google Cloud have announced a five-year partnership to accelerate Unilever’s business transformation through its use of Google Cloud’s AI, data, platform and next-generation marketing capabilities.
Photo: Unilever
The aim of the partnership is to help drive growth and desirability for Unilever’s global brand portfolio – including iconic brands such Dove, Vaseline and Hellmann’s – using Google Cloud’s technologies to build new capabilities in brand discovery, measurement and AI-augmented marketing.
“This will create a new model for how consumer packaged goods brands are discovered and shopped, as consumer journeys shift toward more conversational and agentic experiences,” Unilever says in a press release.
“By migrating its integrated data and cloud platform to Google Cloud, Unilever will build an enterprise-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.”
Tech is at the core of value creation
Willem Uijen, Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer at Unilever, notes that technology has moved to the core of value creation at the company.
“As brands are increasingly discovered and chosen in environments shaped by AI, we must lead this shift,” he explains.
“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.”
Comments the marketing industry news website Marketing Dive: “Unilever’s five-year pact with Google demonstrates that the CPG marketer is taking the rise of agentic commerce seriously.
“The deal will see the sprawling company migrate its own data platforms and enterprise applications to Google Cloud as it tries to stay on the leading edge of the AI race.”
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