P&G CIO Shares Roadmap for Long-Lasting AI Development
AI's potential doesn't always align with AI's reality, according to Procter & Gamble CIO Seth Cohen.
It changes the question from "How can AI create value?" to "How can AI do something consistently and at scale in ways it can endure?"
Cohen shared how P&G is accelerating the technology's adoption for lasting business impact during the recent Human [X] conference, according to the company's blog.
He said the company has been moving on from experimentation and embedding AI directly into its operations to overhaul the innovation process, elevate consumer and customer experiences, and optimize employee workflows.
"AI can only create value when it is seamlessly integrated into the business, and not when it sits on the sidelines via a collection of pilots," he said.
The approach impacts four different areas — data platforms, consumer connections, innovation capabilities and the supply chain — bringing them together to create a "force multiplier."
"Our core data lakes serve as a key foundational element to our digital scale," said Cohen.
Focusing on the Data Foundation
Over the last decade, P&G has worked to consolidate data by freeing it from silos across geographies, functions and systems of records so AI can operate end-to-end.
Also: P&G builds on data foundation with AI-enabled optimizations
Within its data lakes, the company has focused on creating standard structures, data definitions, access management and quality. These pools of data gather insights from more than 2 million consumer touchpoints per year, including in-home visits with sensors, ratings and reviews, and consumer relation interactions.
"Data discipline isn't glamorous, but it's the difference between AI theatre and AI as a competitive advantage," he said.
Creating AI Flexibility
The company uses a platform-based approach, which Cohen calls "the AI factory," to create customized business capabilities from common workbenches, keeping agility at the forefront to connect data quickly and ensure scalability.
Use cases have included identifying unmet consumer needs to develop new innovations, including haircare sun protection. Using AI, P&G created its Pantene Sunkiss Glow Spray, moving from ideation to packaging and communications in mere days instead of weeks.
Additionally, the company has embedded AI across its supply chain operations, creating touchless manufacturing environments and optimizing efforts to improve overall productivity, reduce downtime and increase resiliency.
To drive meaningful results at scale, Cohen suggested that leaders:
- Combine data, human expertise and tech to turn insight into real business impact.
- Build scalable platforms instead of one-off solutions, so that capabilities can be reused and expanded across the enterprise.
- Invest in trusted, high-quality data as the foundation for effective AI adoption.
- Prepare employees to work alongside intelligent systems, freeing them up for higher-value work.
