With its unparalleled analytical capabilities, artificial intelligence offers a wide range of applications for businesses. The luxury industry, always on the lookout for new technologies and innovation, has been quick to explore the vast possibilities offered by artificial intelligence, particularly generative intelligence, in a world of perpetual change.
Let's dive into the exciting intersections between generative AI and Luxury, with an overview of the challenges and opportunities shaping the future of this prestigious sector.
Generative AI and luxury: what opportunities?
Generative AI, based on foundation models such as Large Language Models, is a revolution that can help luxury companies meet new customer expectations, thanks to its ability to understand human language and creativity in generating content (text, video, image...), extracting or classifying information. From optimizing processes (increasing productivity, simplifying certain tasks...) to personalizing the customer experience, generative AI offers new perspectives in the process of creating unique experiences, while raising debates on questions of authenticity, data confidentiality and ethics.
Faced with these questions, it's important to think of generative AI as an exoskeleton that enables us to multiply our capabilities without eliminating the human element. That's why it's vital for all our employees to be aware of how they are using these tools, particularly with regard to the ethics and confidentiality of shared data. This is particularly true in the luxury sector, where ancestral know-how, an essential differentiating element of a brand, must not be shared or revealed by training public models with private data. It is therefore vital for these luxury brands to train their staff - including top management - and to favor the use of private rather than public language and architecture models.
Among the use cases already in place or in the process of being created, generative AIs are helping players in the luxury goods industry to prototype new collections, hyper-personalize content, create new digital/physical experiences, and improve customer relations through more human and effective conversational agents.
These new experiences will help luxury companies appeal to future customers, especially millenials and Generation Z, who are expected to represent 75% of buyers by 2026 according to BCG's True-Luxury Global Consumer Insight 2023 report.
For a luxury player, as for any company, deploying generative AI in the back-office also enables internal teams to become more efficient, promoting greater productivity and quality, as well as greater commitment and belonging to the company.
However, as with any disruptive technology, it is important to analyze the advantages and constraints of implementing solutions of this type, and to adapt them to your business and strategy.
How can a tool of this scale be deployed effectively?
We're convinced thatgenerative AI is a real revolution, and that it's essential for brands to adopt it quickly.
To achieve this, it is essential to train employees and support the business lines, helping them to demystify the technology and project it into their daily lives. It is also essential to surround yourself with experts to help you imagine the concrete application of generative AI, and to implement a sustainable strategy in line with your company's strategies and values.
In concrete terms, the first step is to take stock of all internal processes, to have a clear vision of the available and necessary data (analysis of sales metrics, trends, customer experience, areas for improvement in the industrial process...) to see "where" and "why" generative AI would be relevant.
Next, you need to define "when" and "how" to integrate generative AI into your company and its processes, bearing in mind that this is a tool that must not alter the quality, uses, ethics and value of your business. As explained above, the choice of generative AI solution, size and type of model (public/private - open source) are all essential parameters to consider before embarking on this type of project.
Generative AI is first and foremost a business vision, part of a corporate strategy that the technical project makes possible.
Change management is also important to acculturate and sensitize employees to the impact of this new tool. Top management must be ambassadors and driving forces in this transformation, and everyone must understand and take advantage of these new technologies.
As a luxury product is the result of craftsmanship, industrial know-how and history, generative AI should be seen as an opportunity to marry traditional craftsmanship with technological innovation to redefine Luxury in the digital age, offering consumers experiences that combine the heritage of the past with the creativity of the future. Investing in your own generative AI means benefiting from an enhanced customer and employee experience, and remaining competitive in the face of ever-changing market challenges.
Jérôme Malzac, Innovation Director at Micropole
