Reckitt to Drive Product Development Acceleration With AI
Reckitt has set its sights on accelerating artificial intelligence-powered innovation through 2027 as part of wider Fuel for Growth organizational targets.
Shannon Eisenhardt, Reckitt’s CFO, said during the company’s recent earnings call that new generative AI tools would be rolled out across its R&D function in 2025 to drive productivity and product superiority.
The company has already been piloting the technology with its Finish brand to analyze years of past research and test data to develop new product concepts “grounded in science and consumer insights,” said CEO Kris Licht.
Early findings of GenAI applications in product innovation have reduced development time for the company by up to 60% while also improving quality. The implementations will be used to foster greater levels of collaboration and innovation, said Eisenhardt.
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International AI Efforts
The company is working on digitizing its operations on a global scale, with research and development seeing significant transformation.
In Shanghai, for example, Licht said the company’s new R&D center will amplify its understanding of consumers as they look to expand and create new categories. In Europe, Reckitt has been using generative AI within its R&D efforts over the last 12 months to analyze real-time consumer feedback and compare it country-by-country to better understand new product launch sentiment and apply learnings to other markets.
Within its European pharmacy business, Reckitt is also using AI to drive assortment optimization. The company also partnered with DragonflyAI to predict the likelihood of its product images standing out on Amazon and other e-commerce channels.
