The lab allows both companies to work together on creating AI solutions for Estee Lauder’s beauty brands. 

Using Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI service, Estee Lauder has already developed an AI chatbot for marketing use. 

The chatbot will be used internally by Estee Lauder employees to monitor global beauty trends and navigate the company’s product and claim database, the company said.  

Estee Lauder stated that it hoped this would allow its beauty brands to launch more personalised local advertising campaigns more quickly. 

Outside of marketing, Estee Lauder also confirmed that it was working with Microsoft to create AI tools for product R&D intended to be used by its scientists and product development team. 

“At [Estee Lauder], technology always supports our enduring strengths of high-quality products and high-touch consumer experiences,” stated Jane Lauder, the company's chief data officer. 

“With Microsoft’s GenAI tools and extensive expertise, we are able to leverage [Estee Lauder]’s tremendous data to create more personalised consumer experiences and faster insights to action resulting in increased speed to market and stronger local relevancy,” she added. 

Estee Lauder originally began collaborating with Microsoft in 2017 and has already used Microsoft’s Azure AI in a virtual makeup assistant app that was launched in 2023. 

Estee Lauder stated that its AI Innovation Lab marked a deepening of the companies’ relationship. 

“GenAI 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,” said Microsoft’s corporate VP of global industry solutions, Shelley Bransten. 

“We are 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,” she added. 

In a 2024 survey conducted by research and analysis company GlobalData, 40% of businesses across a variety of sectors answered that AI had already significantly disrupted their sector.

A further 13% answered that they expected AI to disrupt their sector in the next 12 months.

In its 2024 AI market forecast, GlobalData anticipated GenAI will be the fastest growing segment of AI. By 2027, it forecast that global GenAI revenues could exceed $33bn, achieving a compound annual growth rate of 80% from 2022.