Akeneo Acquires AI Platform Unifai to Bolster Product Experience Solutions

Akeneo’s vision has always been clear-cut: elevate product experiences globally for brands, retailers, and distributors. While many have been easily swayed by the widespread AI hype, Akeneo has been pragmatic. Their customer-centric approach emphasizes leveraging AI for PX and has previously allowed clients direct access to over 20 AI applications via its App Store. These applications span across crucial phases of activating product experiences, including data collection and cleansing, product information enrichment, and content translation.

Unifai has consistently emerged as a premier solution for the initial and vital phase of product experience activation. It efficiently addresses the challenges of supplier data onboarding, supplier pricing integration, and marketplace seller onboarding – processes that are central to efficient product data management.

Fred de Gombert, CEO and founder of Akeneo, cautions against the allure of flashy AI demos that generate product content. He stressed, “Without centralized, complete, and accurate product attributes, the risk is high for failed product experiences, poor customer interactions, and, ultimately, brand degradation.”

There’s undeniable evidence of the efficacy of Unifai’s system. For instance, Rexel, a joint Akeneo and Unifai client, recorded an 80% decrease in manual interventions and a tripling in time-to-market acceleration. Intersport also saw its product data processing time slashed by half. By integrating Unifai’s AI and machine learning prowess with Akeneo’s solutions, customers can anticipate 50% time savings with a striking 95% accuracy in data onboarding procedures.

Patrice Gouineau, Director of Product Data at Rexel France, expressed enthusiasm over this integration. “The amalgamation of Unifai’s AI capabilities into Akeneo’s Product Cloud fine-tunes our supplier data enrichment processes, enhancing the digital experience for our customers.”

Similarly, Michaël Alimi, CIO at Intersport, underscored the distinction between investing in product versus customer experiences, praising Akeneo’s unwavering focus on the former. “Merging AI/ML from Unifai into Akeneo’s platform is a notable advancement, and the prospects this alliance offers are invigorating,” he added.

In light of potential pitfalls from ill-advised AI applications, Akeneo aims to establish the first AI for PX Center of Excellence. This endeavor will transparently share best practices, pitfalls, and innovations related to AI in PX with professionals.