Reckitt Gen AI Pilots Optimizing Operations, Product Development, and Marketing
Reckitt — manufacturer of such brands as Air Wick, Clearasil, Enfamil, Finish, Gaviscon, Lysol, Mucinex, Woolite, and more — has invested in four-month generative AI pilot programs and it’s already reaping the rewards.
Led by the company’s IT and digital team, in partnership with Boston Consulting Group, the company implemented several pilot programs to optimize efforts across product development, advertising, and operations.
Reckitt's Pilot Programs
The experiments touched the company’s Gaviscon and Finish brands, as well as Reckitt’s overall marketing function.
Product Development
By using generative AI in this space, Reckitt’s teams were able to reduce concept development time by up to 60% while improving quality.
Creative
Reckitt has been using gen AI to produce advertising content, adapting assets for full funnel use and optimizing for launch across multiple countries and languages. Through this effort, Reckitt has seen a 30% reduction in its ad localization and increased the quality of its assets.
Marketing
Reckitt has tapped the technology to reduce manual, repetitive efforts related to post-campaign media analysis. As a result, it reduced time spent by up to 90% while improving quality two-fold.
Sustainability
The company is using generative AI to slash its Scope 3 emissions (representing 96% of its total emissions), with the goal of reducing by 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero by 2040. Partnering with CO2 AI and Quantis, Reckitt gathered over 300,000 data points for deeper insight into emissions per product, removing the need for manual categorization. Within a four-month period, Reckitt gathered this data for its 25,000 products and improved the accuracy of these measurements by 75 times.
The company used custom-built GPTs trained on Reckitt’s data to achieve these results. Additionally, it tapped multi-modal gen AI tools for its content and ad localization needs, and an interactive interface for testing and refining R&D processes using consumer insights. Reckitt’s aim was to elevate insights and productivity, generating better-quality outcomes on an expedited timeline.
A Transformation Journey
Fabrice Beaulieu, Reckitt's chief marketing, sustainability and corporate affairs officer, said generative AI presents significant opportunities for growth but the technology needs to be harnessed in the right way. This includes implementing successful changement management and being intentional in leadership strategies.
Beaulieu shared these details at the Cannes Lions festival. He said generative AI dominated much of the agenda, and the company is already looking into scaling its efforts.
"These pilots give us clear insight and understanding of where the immediate opportunities for gen AI lie, which we are already acting upon," he said.
These initiatives play into the company's larger transformation strategy, detailed last year as Kris Licht took on the role of CEO. Reckitt said it would be investing in innovation and product superiority with emerging technologies, embedding more digital and AI capabilities throughout its value chain.
