Unilever is doubling down on artificial intelligence to revolutionize how it creates, scales, and delivers content across platforms. The global consumer goods giant has launched an AI-powered Design Hub and an internal tool called SketchPro, aimed at moving its brands away from a traditional TV-first approach toward agile, digital-first storytelling.

The initiative is part of Unilever’s broader ambition to embed AI into every stage of its creative and marketing pipeline. The Design Hub will work with over 400 Unilever brands—including Dove, Knorr, and Rexona—to co-develop fit-for-platform content, especially tailored for channels such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, connected TV (CTV), and e-commerce.

From TV-First to Digital-Ready

For decades, Unilever operated with a centralized, TV-centric creative model. However, with today’s consumers scattered across diverse digital touchpoints, that strategy is no longer sufficient. The newly formed AI Design Hub will combine human creativity with generative AI tools to scale content production and adapt messaging to multiple formats in real-time.

Esi Eggleston Bracey, Unilever’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, emphasized that the company’s approach to AI is augmentative rather than replacement-driven. “This isn’t about AI replacing our creatives; it’s about helping them do more—faster, smarter, and more tailored,” Bracey said.

Instead of creating one hero ad and adapting it across channels, Unilever now embraces what it calls “born-digital” content. Through the AI Design Hub, creative teams can ideate, test, and deploy campaigns more rapidly, with contextual relevance across markets.

Introducing SketchPro: Unilever’s Internal AI Tool

At the core of Unilever’s AI push is SketchPro, a proprietary in-house platform developed to support campaign development at scale. The tool allows marketing teams to input a product brief and receive a suite of creative assets—ranging from static visuals and short videos to social media posts—within minutes.

SketchPro has been instrumental in driving Unilever’s AI-led content transformation. The company reports that it has generated more than 3.5 billion impressions using AI-generated content. The tool has been used in campaigns across personal care, food, and home care categories, and helps marketers personalize messaging at speed for different geographies and audience segments.

One example cited is the viral campaign for a soap product that was customized in real-time based on regional consumer insights. The creative assets—produced and refined using AI tools—enabled the brand to engage niche audiences with relevant messaging while maintaining a consistent brand voice.

Human Creativity Still at the Core

Despite the increasing role of automation, Unilever is clear that AI remains a co-pilot rather than the driver. SketchPro, for instance, is designed to generate content drafts, which are then refined and approved by human creatives to ensure brand alignment and storytelling quality.

The company has built checks into the system to ensure content reflects brand values and resonates emotionally. "The human touch is still what connects with consumers," said Bracey. "AI helps us work smarter, but storytelling remains a human craft."

The Design Hub also collaborates closely with Unilever’s global network of creative agencies, enabling hybrid workflows that blend AI-generated speed with agency-driven insight and polish.

Implications for the Industry

Unilever’s AI strategy signals a broader transformation underway in the marketing world. As media becomes more fragmented and consumer attention more fleeting, brands are increasingly turning to AI not just for operational efficiency, but as a catalyst for creative innovation.

By operationalizing tools like SketchPro within a centralized Design Hub, Unilever is attempting to balance personalization, speed, and scale—three challenges that have long plagued traditional marketing models.

While the company has not disclosed specific external vendors behind SketchPro, reports suggest it integrates a combination of proprietary AI models and third-party generative tools.

Unilever’s results so far have been promising. The combination of AI and human input has helped improve time-to-market, increased consumer engagement, and reduced content production costs across multiple geographies.

Looking Ahead

As generative AI tools continue to evolve, Unilever’s approach could serve as a blueprint for other global marketers looking to scale content creation without sacrificing creativity or brand consistency.

With platforms like SketchPro embedded into its daily marketing operations and the Design Hub steering agile content workflows, Unilever appears poised to lead the next wave of AI-enabled marketing transformation—where speed meets storytelling, and automation meets authenticity.