NTT DATA AI Simulation Reduces Kao Product Research Timeline by 99 Percent

NTT DATA, a global provider of digital business and AI services, concluded a proof of concept (PoC) with Kao Corporation, a major Japanese consumer goods and cosmetics entity, validating an advanced AI methodology for simulating consumer behavior. This initiative aimed to generate detailed consumer personas to significantly enhance product development research, addressing the challenge of rapidly capturing evolving customer needs within tight product launch schedules.

The core of the technology involved deploying sophisticated AI models and an integrated AI interviewer, utilizing Kao Corporation's proprietary datasets. NTT DATA integrated its proprietary marketing AI agent service with Kao's accumulated consumer research, purchase histories, and social media intelligence to construct multiple AI Consumers and the interviewer. This data-intensive approach seeks to move beyond conventional, resource-heavy processes involving extensive research design, respondent recruitment, fieldwork, and analysis.

For Kao's makeup brand, which introduces new product lines seasonally, compressing the development cycle is a critical operational necessity. The PoC demonstrated a projected reduction in the research timeline from a conventional 1.5 months to just half a day, marking a 99 percent acceleration. This speed increase offers substantial efficiency gains and facilitates a more sophisticated consumer-insight process while reducing the operational burden of participant recruitment and survey execution.

Mizuho Mitake, Head of the Second Industry Business Sector, Japan, at NTT DATA, noted that consumer trends are shifting from quarterly or monthly cycles to a weekly cadence, making high-agility response vital for business expansion. This breakthrough aligns with broader industry movements where AI is transforming cosmetic research and development (R&D) to enable faster innovation and more precise formulation, reducing reliance on iterative experimentation.

Kao Corporation has a history of employing simulation technologies, such as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and structural analysis, to optimize production processes and evaluate product design, thereby lowering prototyping costs. However, this current AI consumer simulation specifically models behavior, ensuring that AI-derived research outcomes align with insights from established, traditional research methodologies. NTT DATA intends to further realize its “Smart AI Agent®” concept, where AI agents autonomously manage tasks, moving this PoC into broader marketing operations and supporting brands aiming for relevance amid weekly consumer demand shifts.