AI-Powered Growth: Boost Your Business, Not Replace Your Team
▼ Summary
– Colgate-Palmolive’s AI strategy is fundamentally human-centered, using technology to enhance human processes and create better consumer products.
– The company implements AI through a dual framework: horizontal tools for company-wide productivity and vertical focuses on priority areas like innovation.
– It fosters local exploration via a secure internal “AI Hub,” allowing global teams to safely test and share new AI applications.
– A strong governance model, including mandatory training and guardrails, ensures ethical and safe AI use aligned with company values.
– Success is measured by tangible business outcomes, including revenue growth, operational efficiencies, and the creation of scalable intellectual property.
Successfully integrating artificial intelligence into a business hinges on a powerful partnership between technology and human talent. The goal is to use AI to amplify the capabilities of your team, not to create a workforce of machines. At global consumer goods company Colgate-Palmolive, this philosophy is central to their strategy. According to Chief Data and Analytics Officer Diana Schildhouse, the key to driving real growth is to ensure that people remain at the heart of every AI initiative. This human-centered approach transforms potential disruption into a catalyst for innovation and efficiency.
Schildhouse emphasizes that professional talent must be allied with technological capability. Her team’s work begins not with technology, but with a deep understanding of business challenges and employee workflows. They employ human-centered design principles, conducting extensive UX/UI research to ensure that any AI tool feels intuitive and seamlessly integrates into how people already work. For instance, marketers equipped with AI can generate and test ideas more rapidly, using the technology as a collaborative tool that enhances their creative process rather than replacing their judgment.
A dual-track framework guides their exploration. The company operates on both horizontal and vertical axes. Horizontally, they provide foundational tools and platforms that empower employees across all departments to boost productivity and uncover insights faster. Vertically, they focus concentrated efforts on high-priority areas like product innovation and demand generation. This structure allows for methodical, company-wide scaling of successful pilots while still pursuing targeted breakthroughs.
Empowerment at the local level is equally critical. In a sprawling global organization, some of the best ideas emerge from teams on the ground. To foster this safely, Colgate-Palmolive established an internal AI Hub, a governed platform where employees can experiment with AI assistants and applications. Access requires mandatory training, ensuring everyone understands responsible use. This has cultivated a global community of AI ambassadors who share discoveries, turning local experiments into worldwide opportunities.
Governance is not seen as a barrier but as an essential enabler of sustainable innovation. Establishing a strong learning culture is fundamental to this governance. The company mandates training for AI tool users, which aligns perfectly with its existing culture of continuous skill development. These guardrails ensure that exploration happens within ethical boundaries and in line with corporate values, managing risk without stifling creativity.
Ultimately, every initiative is measured against its ability to deliver tangible business value. Schildhouse’s team evaluates their impact through a clear framework: Are we increasing revenue? Are we creating efficiencies by saving time or accelerating insights? Are we building valuable intellectual property through custom algorithms and tools? This focus on measurable outcomes, from pricing analytics to scalable internal software, ensures that AI investments directly contribute to the company’s growth, proving that the most powerful applications of technology are those designed to work alongside people.
(Source: ZDNET)
