Unilever and Google Cloud: A Five-Year Transformation Plan

Unilever and Google Cloud have inked a five-year partnership to accelerate the consumer goods giant’s transformation with advanced AI and platform capabilities, alongside next-generation marketing capabilities. 

The deal centres on building an enterprise-wide, AI-first digital backbone on Google Cloud and deploying tools such as Vertex AI and Gemini to reimagine how Unilever brands are discovered and purchased as consumer journeys become more agent-driven.

Could your ice cream be 'powered by AI'?

Unilever and Google Cloud say their collaboration will drive growth and desirability across the former's global portfolio, including Dove, Ben & Jerrys and Magnum, by fusing marketing science with scalable AI.

Using Vertex AI, Unilever plans to develop new capabilities in brand discovery, measurement and AI-augmented marketing, laying groundwork for a model in which CPG brands are surfaced and shopped through intelligent assistants that can reason and recommend.

"Technology has moved to the core of value creation at Unilever,” comments Willem Uijen, Chief Supply Chain and Operations Officer 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."

AI-first backbone on Google Cloud

At the core of the initiative is a migration of Unilever’s integrated data and cloud platform to Google Cloud, creating a connected environment for governing AI at scale.

The aim is faster demand generation, more actionable insights from first- and third-party data and greater agility in responding to market shifts.

That foundation will support agentic workflows: intelligent systems designed to plan and execute multi-step tasks across business processes and shifting the priorities of people in the workforce.

Tara Brady, President, EMEA at Google Cloud, says: "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."

Three pillars of collaboration

First, Unilever and Google Cloud will build agentic commerce and marketing intelligence that advances brand discovery, conversion and measurement, keeping pace with AI-mediated consumer behaviour and conversational touchpoints.

Second, Unilever will establish an integrated data and cloud foundation on Google Cloud by transitioning key enterprise applications and data platforms, creating a single, governed backbone to scale AI consistently across the value chain.

Lastly, the partnership will accelerate adoption of advanced AI by combining Unilever’s category expertise with Google Cloud’s models and tooling, including Vertex AI and Gemini, to sustain long-term competitive advantage.

For Unilever, the bet is that a unified, AI-first architecture, paired with agentic systems can autonomously coordinate tasks and personalise experiences in a privacy-conscious landscape. For Google Cloud, the engagement showcases how its platform, Vertex AI and Gemini can move beyond pilots into production-grade transformation within one of the world’s largest FMCG enterprises.

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