British multinational consumer goods company Unilever has signed a five-year cloud and AI agreement with Google Cloud.

The value of the agreement has not been shared, but it will see Unilever migrating its "integrated data and cloud platform" to GCP, aiming to enable it to develop an "enterprise-wide, AI-first digital backbone."

Unilever brands such as Dove, Vaseline, and Hellmann's will use Google Cloud's technologies, including its Vertex AI platform, to build "new capabilities" specifically focused on brand discovery and measurement.

"Technology has moved to the core of value creation at Unilever," said Willem Uijen, chief supply chain and operations officer, Unilever. "As brands are increasingly discovered and chosen in environments shaped by AI, we must lead this shift. This collaboration with Google Cloud sets a new level in how technology can power commerce and growth in the fast-moving consumer goods industry, ensuring Unilever is agile, fit for the future, and equipped to unlock value at every level of the company."

Tara Brady, president, EMEA, at Google Cloud, added: "In partnering with Unilever as it boldly reimagines its business processes, we are not just modernizing legacy systems; we are deploying our advanced models, such as Gemini, to create a system of intelligence that reasons, learns, and acts. This will set a new standard for agility and consumer engagement in the CPG sector."

The company has had a previous relationship with Google Cloud Platform, having announced in 2020 that it would be using Google’s cloud computing applications to combat deforestation.

Beyond the development of new AI capabilities, the migration of key enterprise applications and data platforms to Google Cloud is notable, with Unilever having gone "all-in" on cloud computing in 2023 and mainly turning to Microsoft Azure.

At the time, Microsoft Azure was the company's primary cloud platform. Whether this remains the case is unclear.

Last year, a former Unilever factory in Wales was potentially set to become a modular data center site. Located in Bank Quay, Warrington, the factory previously made soap for Unilever.