Coca-Cola Signs $1bn OpenAI Chatbot Microsoft Deal
Coca-Cola has signed a US$1.1bn five-year deal to use Microsoft’s cloud computing and AI services.
Under the agreement, the companies will “jointly experiment” with Azure OpenAI, to allow customers to build chatbots and other AI services that run in Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service.
Coca-Cola has said it will test Microsoft's Copilot offerings “to see how the tools improve productivity”. Copilot is an AI assistant that can summarise email threads and build slide decks for business presentations.
The company will explore genAI-powered digital assistants on Azure OpenAI Service to help employees improve customer experiences, streamline operations, foster innovation, gain a competitive advantage, boost efficiency and uncover new growth opportunities.
The deal will also see Coca-Cola expand its use of other more conventional Microsoft software, including Dynamics 365, which is a suite of enterprise accounting and sales software products.
Coca-Cola & Microsoft partnership 'significant'
“Through our long-term partnership, we have made significant progress to accelerate system-wide AI transformation across the Coca-Cola Company and its network of independent bottlers worldwide,” said Microsoft Chief commercial officer Judson Althoff. “We are proud to support Coca-Cola as it continues to embrace the era of AI and looks to solutions like Azure OpenAI Service and Copilot for Microsoft 365 to drive innovation across every area of its business.”
“This new agreement builds on the success of our partnership strategy with Microsoft, showing our commitment to ongoing digital transformation,” said John Murphy, President & Chief Financial Officer of The Coca-Cola Company. “Our partnership with Microsoft has grown exponentially, from the $250 million agreement we initially announced in 2020 to $1.1 billion today.”
The deal follows a $250 million five-year arrangement by Coca-Cola in 2020 to use Microsoft's cloud and business software.
Coca-Cola has migrated all its applications to Microsoft Azure, with most major independent bottling partners following suit.
As a pioneer in AI adoption, Coca-Cola has been innovating with genAI for nearly a year and has used Azure OpenAI Service to rework areas of its business including marketing, manufacturing and supply chain.
