With a presence in over 200 countries and regions and a portfolio that includes iconic brands like Lay’s, Gatorade, Pepsi, and Quaker, PepsiCo serves billions of consumers and retailers worldwide. But behind the scenes, the company is undertaking an ambitious digital transformation, one rooted in building data capabilities at scale and embedding AI across both front-line and back-office functions.

In the first part of this three-part conversation with Clyde Gillard, North American AI GTM Leader at HPE, Amlan Maitra, SVP and Head of Enterprise Data at PepsiCo, outlined how the company is modernizing its data foundation and establishing an environment ready for AI.

In this second installment, Maitra speaks with Clyde Gillard, North American AI GTM Leader at HPE, about how PepsiCo distinguishes between AI use cases for consumers and customers, the role of orchestrated AI agents, and how the company rigorously prioritizes initiatives for maximum business impact.

Edited Excerpts

Q: PepsiCo serves two very different groups — your end consumers who buy your products, and your customers such as retailers, distributors, and small stores who deliver those products. These groups likely have distinct needs and behaviors. Do you approach AI use cases differently for each of them?

The consumer is at the heart of what we do at PepsiCo. So understanding consumer shifts and trends in real time, for example, consumers becoming more experiential, seeking functional benefits in products, favoring multicultural flavors, or making more active choices, is critical. It’s critical to get those insights quickly, and this is where AI plays an important role. It allows us to drive more precise product portfolio innovation at speed.

We’re also focused on hyperpersonalizing our marketing campaigns for individual consumers. Generative AI is helping us bring those capabilities to life, and that’s an area we’re actively working on.

On the customer side, we’re developing capabilities like integrated customer contact centers that are supported by orchestrated AI agents. That approach helps deliver a much more consistent and high-quality customer service experience, rather than having fragmented support. These AI agents can drive better customer service and potentially help us grow the business.

We’re also looking at how our go-to-market and sales teams can use AI agents to simplify their daily workflows, so that they can spend more time on business development, upselling, and cross-selling, and less time on tasks that could be automated.

Q: With so many AI use cases across global business units and functions, how do you prioritize which initiatives to pursue? Is there a specific process or framework PepsiCo uses to assess and approve these projects?

In a global organization like ours, with multiple business units, sectors, and geographies, we’ve adopted a very structured approach to demand shaping and prioritizing digital or AI-centric use cases.

Here’s how it works: Each business unit, sector, or function proposes digital transformation ideas. These then go through our Business Transformation Team, which is part of our Strategy and Transformation organization. That team works with the units to assess the viability, strategic importance, and ROI of the proposed initiatives.

From there, we evaluate high-level solutioning and estimate the cost of the capability. All of this gets compiled into a prioritized list that’s presented to a Digital Council composed of senior leaders. This council challenges assumptions, validates recommendations, and ultimately approves a list of funded initiatives.

If the proposed solution involves AI, it goes through an additional vetting process with our AI Council or Steering Committee. This ensures that broader considerations like AI safety, governance, and responsible AI practices are accounted for.

It’s a rigorous, structured process. And once an initiative makes it through, we’re confident it’s aligned with our strategic priorities and worth investing in.

CDO Magazine appreciates Amlan Maitra for sharing his insights with our global community.