As Microsoft and ELC start the AI Innovation Lab, your next face cream could be created by AI

Last week, Microsoft and ELC (Estée Lauder Companies) announced the creation of the AI Innovation Lab. This makes the beauty industry the latest in this list to integrate generative AI into identifying and responding to social trends and developing customer-oriented products.

According to Microsoft’s official blog, this relationship will augment ELC’s prestige beauty brands and help the latter develop market-oriented solutions. It will also improve consumer connections and aid in better marketing the products.

Talking about the collaboration, ELC’s Jane Lauder, EVP, Enterprise Marketing, and Chief Data Officer, said,

At ELC, technology is always in support of our enduring strengths of high-quality products and high-touch consumer experiences. With Microsoft’s generative AI tools and extensive expertise, we are able to leverage ELC’s tremendous data to create more personalized consumer experiences and faster insights to action resulting in increased speed to market and stronger local relevancy. We look forward to continuing our close and collaborative partnership with Microsoft.

As for the applications, Microsoft and ELC have developed an internal-facing generative AI chatbot to supplement the marketing techniques. The chatbot will help identify and deploy more region-centric campaigns to boost ELC’s prospects.

Besides, generative AI will allow ELC to quickly create new products and aid their development specialists in discovering emerging products and ingredients.

Microsoft’s Shelley Bransten, Corporate Vice President of Global Industry Solutions, said,

Generative AI represents a significant opportunity for the beauty industry — creating more engaging customer experiences, getting products into the hands of consumers faster, developing new products more efficiently and sustainably, and much more. We’re proud to collaborate with The Estée Lauder Companies to provide not only a platform for AI innovation, but also deep partnership to bring these new innovations to life.

The two companies, Microsoft and ELC, have had strategic ties since 2017, and the new AI Innovation Lab is an expansion of it.

Previously, ELC employed Azure AI to develop its Voice-Enabled Makeup Assistant, an Android and iOS app that helps the visually impaired easily apply makeup. The app is currently available in the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland, with expansion to other countries underway.

In recent years, Microsoft’s AI push and investment in the landscape have increased significantly. Last month, Microsoft introduced AI-oriented solutions for manufacturing, targeting another untapped market.

Which market do you think Microsoft will tap into next with its generative AI solutions? Share with us in the comments section.