The AI-powered personalised experiences boosting our brands

Unilever beauty brands are using artificial intelligence to create engaging, hyper-personalised consumer experiences – helping to drive growth through market development, premium positioning and increased sales.

Thanks to collaborations between our dedicated in-house beauty tech division, Unilever’s IT, AI assurance, legal and data ethics experts, and teams across our Beauty & Wellbeing business group, we have successfully launched a range of AI-powered, digital diagnostic tools.

The aim? To deliver immersive, superior digital beauty experiences for our consumers, providing beauty-lovers with an enjoyable, interactive way to find the perfect products for their needs, and buy them online.

“We want to disrupt the category, driving differentiation and, in turn, incremental growth. Industry-leading operational excellence, using AI digital solutions to grow our business, is a core pillar of Unilever’s Growth Action Plan,” says Zoe Eungblut, Beauty & Wellbeing Digital Strategy Director.

“Technology is powering a digital beauty revolution and changing how brands communicate. By delivering breakthrough immersive beauty experiences, we can drive science, build desirability, and deliver cut-through in an unexpected way,” Zoe adds.

Here are three of our new AI beauty tools…

An ad for BeautyHub PRO featuring two women and one man smiling at the camera. Text reads ‘Your virtual beauty BFF’

BeautyHub PRO is an AI-powered selfie tool that offers product advice for both skincare and haircare all in one engaging online platform.

Consumers in the Philippines and Thailand can simply complete a quiz and share a selfie. BeautyHub PRO then uses a type of AI, known as Computer Vision, to ‘see’ and assess up to 30 visual data points, and make personalised product recommendations based on several different Unilever brands.

By bringing together the power of Unilever’s brands and products, BeautyHub PRO is helping consumers find products that work for their specific needs more easily, and it’s driving growth for brands across our beauty portfolio.

We’ve seen that the total shopping basket value of consumers who purchase from BeautyHub PRO is 39% higher than consumers who shop elsewhere.

And consumers who use BeautyHub PRO to discover new recommendations are 43% more likely to complete a purchase, versus consumers who browse on other channels.

More than 80,000 users experienced BeautyHub PRO in 2023, expanding its reach to more than 3 million people.

Data and insights gathered from BeautyHub PRO also help Unilever brand teams to make our marketing unmissable. Through our new AI suite, Beauty & Wellbeing teams in South East Asia are combining these insights with social and search trends to create relevant and effective content for consumers. Marketing assets where this data has been applied show a 23% increase in ad recall, and 7% higher purchasing intent.

Explore BeautyHub PRO’s Philippines site here

A smart phone screen showing Dove’s Scalp and Hair Therapist tool and an image of a woman with curly hair.

Dove’s new Scalp + Hair Therapy range introduces advanced haircare and leave-on serums developed with dermatologists, to address growing consumer demand for sophisticated scalp care products.

In March 2024, the Power Brand strengthened its support for US consumers seeking scalp care expertise with the launch of Dove’s virtual AI-powered Scalp + Hair Therapist – an interactive diagnostic tool accessed via Dove’s website.

Users start by answering questions about their scalp health and hair concerns. The tool, developed using generative AI capabilities and drawing on a wealth of expertise from Dove’s dermatologists, then generates a personalised scalp and hair profile, and shares products that could help make a difference.

Every piece of advice is based on peer-reviewed content that has been meticulously evaluated by Unilever’s R&D, Legal and Regulatory teams. Our tech partners and AI tools are also carefully vetted by these teams to ensure the security of the platforms and data shared.

“It’s early days for Dove’s Scalp + Hair Therapist but we’re so excited to be elevating the online experience for our consumers and sharing Dove’s expertise in an area where we’re seeing considerable interest,” says Rachel St. Fleur, Associate Director, Dove Hair, North America.

Links to buy the recommended products on Amazon are also included, giving shoppers a seamless journey from their first interaction to the point of purchase.

Visit the Dove Scalp + Hair Therapist

A graphic promoting POND’S SKIN INSTITUTE’s AI Skin Expert tool. Text reads: ‘The future of skin analysis starts now’

Unilever Power Brand POND’S SKIN INSTITUTE launched AI Skin Expert in Indonesia and the Philippines in Q4 2023.

The diagnostic skincare tool acts on the insight that consumers aren’t always aware of the products available to treat their skincare needs, and that they may trial several different products before they find the right regimen.

POND’S SKIN INSTITUTE’s AI Skin Expert employs AI technology to look at users’ selfies and carries out a skin analysis, helping consumers to identify and understand their skincare concerns. It then shares customised recommendations from the POND’S SKIN INSTITUTE range to help ensure product picks are right first time.

Since launch, more than 30,000 consumers have used POND’S SKIN INSTITUTE’s AI Skin Expert, and the brand is predicting more than 100,000 users by the end of 2024.

Try POND’S SKIN INSTITUTE AI Skin Expert

“We’re excited about the possibilities AI can provide for Unilever and our consumers — and we’re committed to developing and deploying AI in line with our core values, Code of Business Principles and applicable legal and regulatory requirements,” explains Fahim Salim, Global Technology Director, Beauty & Wellbeing.

“While we have internal processes and guardrails to mitigate foreseeable AI risks, we’re aware that this is a space for continuous learning, and we aim to evolve our internal processes and efforts in line with delivering superior experiences for our consumers,” he adds.

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How AI-powered ultra-personalised experiences are boosting our beauty brands

Here are three of our new AI beauty tools…