Unilever partners Google Cloud to build AI-first backbone

Unilever has struck a five-year partnership with Google Cloud, linking its global consumer brands with Google's artificial intelligence and data tools as it reshapes marketing, commerce and internal workflows.

The deal centres on Google Cloud's AI and data platform services, including Vertex AI and the Gemini models, alongside what the companies describe as next-generation marketing tools. Unilever plans to use the technology for brand discovery, measurement and AI-augmented marketing.

Brands cited as part of the portfolio include Dove, Vaseline and Hellmann's. The tie-up is framed around changing consumer behaviour, with more product discovery and choice happening through conversational interfaces and automated systems.

Shift in shopping

Unilever expects the partnership to influence how shoppers discover and buy consumer packaged goods as digital journeys move towards what the companies call "agentic" experiences. The approach uses software agents that can perform tasks and take actions across different systems with less direct user input than traditional automation.

Unilever plans to develop new approaches to marketing decision-making and performance measurement, and to apply AI to better identify demand signals and respond to shifts in consumer behaviour.

The partnership includes migrating Unilever's integrated data and cloud platform to Google Cloud, creating what it describes as an enterprise-wide, AI-driven digital backbone. Unilever said this foundation will help it generate demand faster, turn data into insights, and respond more quickly to market shifts.

Large consumer goods manufacturers have increased investment in data platforms and AI in recent years, often tying spending to improvements in forecasting, marketing efficiency and supply chain planning. They have also faced rising complexity in digital advertising as privacy controls and platform changes reshape how brands target consumers and measure outcomes.

Three pillars

The collaboration will focus on three pillars. The first covers agentic commerce and marketing intelligence, including capabilities across discovery, conversion and measurement.

The second pillar is an integrated data and cloud foundation, including transitioning key enterprise applications and data platforms to Google Cloud. Unilever expects a connected environment that supports AI deployment across the value chain.

The third pillar is advanced AI adoption, intended to accelerate Unilever's use of new technologies by combining its internal expertise with Google's AI tools.

Willem Uijen, Unilever's Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer, linked the deal to wider changes in the role of technology in consumer goods. "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 described the partnership as an example of the transformation multinationals are pursuing as they modernise core systems and try to operationalise generative AI across business functions. Google has expanded its enterprise AI offering around Vertex AI, its development and deployment platform, and Gemini, its family of large language models.

One intended outcome is the development of agentic workflows across Unilever's business processes. The companies describe these as intelligent systems that can execute complex tasks, such as generating marketing assets, analysing campaign results, and triggering follow-on actions based on performance signals.

The partnership also reflects intensifying competition among cloud providers and AI vendors for large consumer brands with extensive product ranges, high advertising spend and multinational operations. Cloud infrastructure, data integration and model access have become central to these pitches, alongside governance and security, as companies decide where to run AI workloads and store sensitive commercial and customer information.

Tara Brady, President, EMEA at Google Cloud, said the work will include deploying Google's AI models as Unilever modernises systems and processes.

"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."

Unilever said the migration and AI-first digital backbone will underpin future development of agent-based systems across the organisation. Over the five-year term, the collaboration will focus on new marketing approaches and broader operational workflows.