Where AI goes next

From products for all, to products for each. That was one of the key messages relating to the consumer industry from the annual Innovation China Conference 2024 held in Shanghai.

Improving personalisation and the customer experience is, it seems, not just AI’s future, it’s a future that’s developing at breath-taking speed.

The theme for this year’s Innovation China Conference was generative AI, with delegates and hosts from both mainland China and further afield internationally, exploring the frontier applications of AI technologies in material discovery, smart manufacturing and grid optimisation.

Hosted by our portfolio company, China Materialia (CM) in partnership with the Shanghai Strategic Emerging Industries Foundation (SEIF), the event, on 29 April, saw experts in AI from around the world descend on China’s biggest city.

Alongside some of our very own colleagues from BAT’s Research & Development team, a host of interesting speakers shared their foresight and expertise with the assembled guests. They ranged from members of local government and leading entrepreneurs in the AI space to representatives from global corporations including the Mitsubishi Corporation, L’Oréal, Nomura, Huawei, and more.

One of the key takeaways of most interest to the consumer brand industry was that AI is moving towards personalisation and to improve the overall experience a consumer gets from buying and using its products - from products for all to products for each.

And as with most developments in the AI space, personalisation and customer experience is moving fast, and dramatically.

As AI continues to excel at data analysis of consumers, bespoke products and experiences can be created using AI to drive growth and innovation across the industry. And one of the key take aways was that brands that don’t embrace AI will fall behind and struggle to stay competitive in an increasingly saturated market.

Thanks to Dr Min Zhou, Dr Patrick Berbon and Michelle Hua, the co-founding partners of China Materialia, and the whole CM team for curating and hosting such an inspiring and thought-provoking event.