Procter & Gamble study finds AI could help make Pringles tastier, spice up Old Spice, sharpen Gillette

Go on, then, knock yourself out, pal

Procter & Gamble says organizations should rethink how they're run to take better advantage of innovation enabled by generative AI.

The consumer products giant has been AI-curious for several years and recently conducted a study to assess the technology's potential value to its operations.

So with partial funding from Harvard Business School (HBS) – recipient of Procter & Gamble largesse since 2023 – eggheads from HBS, Wharton business school, France’s ESSEC Business School, and Procter & Gamble itself studied 776 professionals tasked with real-world product innovation challenges.

The goal of the study was to determine how human workers performed when working with or without AI assistance, both individually and as members of a product development team. The participants were asked to develop a new product or service to address a real need within their business unit.

The study addressed three questions:

• Does generative AI provide comparable performance gains to that of a human team?
• Does generative AI extend the experience of employees who lack specialized knowledge?
• Does generative AI provide social engagement similar to what people experience when collaborating with peers?

The results were mostly positive. Funnily enough.

"Our findings show that AI replicates many of the benefits of human collaboration, acting as a 'cybernetic teammate,'" the study found. "Individuals [working] with AI produce solutions at a quality level comparable to two-person teams, indicating that AI can indeed stand in for certain collaborative functions."

The researchers – Fabrizio Dell'Acqua, Charles Ayoubi, Hila Lifshitz, Raffaella Sadun, Ethan Mollick, Lilach Mollick, Yi Han, Jeff Goldman, Hari Nair, Stewart Taub, and Karim Lakhani – also found that generative AI assistance allow individuals to "bridge gaps in their knowledge" in a way that's similar to consulting with a colleague.

Finally, they found that working with a generative AI helper was more emotionally satisfying than working alone. The authors noted that "professionals reported more positive emotions and fewer negative emotions when engaging with AI compared to working alone, matching the emotional benefits traditionally associated with human teamwork."

We note that prior HBS research has concluded that interacting with AI models can reduce loneliness.

We're left to wonder whether the study participants' self-reported emotional responses follow from self-delusion. The AI industry continues to anthropomorphize its products, but the fact remains that these systems produce vector math predictions based on a lot of data. If we accept the paper's proposition that "AI can substitute for some of the emotional benefits typically associated with teamwork," we might just as well celebrate the warmth radiated by the quiet but supportive office printer [in the rare few minutes of the year it's actually working – ed.]

Rage against the machine

Not everyone is predisposed to accept AI help without suspicion. A 2021 study [PDF] on human-AI teamwork, titled "What Happens When Humans Believe Their Teammate is an AI? An Investigation into Humans Teaming with Autonomy," found that teams combining humans and machines tend to underperform versus all-human teams. In part that comes from lack of trust, a useful instinct amid error-prone models only lightly touched on in the Procter & Gamble project.

But assuming some sufficient level of AI reliability, Procter & Gamble is clearly smitten with AI.

"This study affirms what we've long suspected: AI is a game-changer for innovation," said Victor Aguilar, P&G chief research and innovation officer, in a statement. "Whether employees are brainstorming solo or collaborating with others, AI provides a powerful boost, unlocking new ideas and accelerating our speed to innovation. We look forward to continuing to test AI in product development exploration and the powerful impact we’ll be able to unlock."

The Register awaits evidence of AI’s power to assist innovation being expressed in Proctor & Gamble brands such as Pringles, Oral-B, Old Spice, Gillette, and Metamucil. ®