The Estée Lauder Companies and Microsoft Announce a New Strategic Partnership to Power Enterprise Efficiency and Consumer-Centric Growth

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) today announced a new strategic partnership with Microsoft Corp. to advance its cloud and data foundation and support the responsible adoption of AI-enabled capabilities across the enterprise. The collaboration will help connect data and intelligent tools to support faster innovation, more efficient operations, and more relevant consumer experiences.

This new partnership is a critical part of The Estée Lauder Companies’ One Operating Ecosystem, which brings together shared platforms, connected data, and best-in-class partners to enable consistent, scalable, and effective execution across the enterprise.

A key initiative of this expanded partnership is harnessing the Microsoft platform to advance the company’s Unified Data Platform. This foundation is the core enabler for AI and agility—connecting the company's data across brands, regions, channels, and functions to reduce duplication, enable reusable data products, and create more consistent access to data-driven insights.

“As we continue to execute on Beauty Reimagined, we are building the future of consumer-centricity—in our products, experiences, commerce, and more,” said Brian Franz, Chief Technology and Transformation Officer, The Estée Lauder Companies. "Our partnership with Microsoft, in addition to the other strategic partners in our One Operating Ecosystem, is powering our teams with the capabilities to ultimately deliver more relevant, personalized experiences that meet consumers’ evolving needs. These enhanced capabilities will help us drive sustainable growth, improve productivity, and support margin expansion, creating capacity to reinvest into our enterprise to serve our consumers.”

“The future of the beauty industry will be shaped by organizations like the Estée Lauder Companies that connect data, people, and AI responsibly,” said Deb Cupp, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer, Microsoft. “Our expanded collaboration will help turn insights into action at scale—from empowering employees to modernizing product development and delivering more meaningful consumer experiences.”

This shared foundation will support The Estée Lauder Companies’ continued development of AI-enabled capabilities in support of its three strategic priorities: New Capabilities & Growth, Decision Intelligence, and Productivity & Automation.

New Capabilities & Growth

Through its work with Microsoft, the company is strengthening the data foundation for an AI-enabled consumer ecosystem. The company is investing in its Unified Consumer Data Platform to deepen understanding of consumer needs and preferences, supporting more personalized experiences. Together with connected product data, this foundation is designed to enable consistent, relevant experiences in real time—from discovery to purchase—helping its brands meet consumers wherever they choose to engage or transact. This flexible foundation, which connects consumer and product data, gives brands the agility to launch and adapt experiences, future proofing the company as new technologies and shopping behaviors emerge. Drawing on 80 years of proprietary consumer understanding and beauty expertise, this foundation also fuels new product innovation, helping the company create differentiated products tailored to consumer needs.

Decision Intelligence

To advance Decision Intelligence, the company is embedding AI in workflows and building a shared enterprise foundation that strengthens connectivity across functions. This connected foundation makes trusted data and insights more accessible and gives teams a common understanding of the business. By connecting these insights to end-to-end workflows, teams across marketing, commercial, value chain, and R&I can make faster, more coordinated decisions in response to changing consumer and market needs. Specifically, the company is reimagining how products move from idea to launch in the value chain by developing a connected, AI-powered workflow across design, validation, and manufacturing—enabling faster, smarter decisions that help deliver innovation to consumers more efficiently.

Productivity & Automation

The company is equipping employees with secure AI tools including Microsoft Copilot and automating repetitive, manual work so teams can move faster and focus on strategy, innovation, and higher-value decision-making. The Estée Lauder Companies has expanded Copilot across its global office-based workforce, reaching more than 14,000 employees. As employees advance into more sophisticated use cases, they are experimenting with productivity agents and embedding AI into role-specific workflows. This human-first approach to AI enablement is helping employees reimagine how they work and increase capacity for growth and innovation.

The Estée Lauder Companies’ long-term strategic partnership with Microsoft supports the company’s Beauty Reimagined strategy, bringing together technology, data, and AI to strengthen consumer centricity, accelerate innovation, improve productivity, and create sustainable value. As the company enters its next chapter, this collaboration will help scale high-impact capabilities and support growth with greater speed, agility, and efficiency.

About The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers, marketers and sellers of quality skin care, makeup, fragrance and hair care products, and is a steward of luxury and prestige brands globally. The company’s products are sold in approximately 150 countries and territories under brand names including: Estée Lauder, Aramis, Clinique, Lab Series, Origins, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown Cosmetics, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Bumble and bumble, Darphin Paris, TOM FORD, Smashbox, AERIN Beauty, Le Labo, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle, GLAMGLOW, KILIAN PARIS, Too Faced, Dr.Jart+, the DECIEM family of brands, including The Ordinary and NIOD, and BALMAIN Beauty.