For Burberry, customer service is more than problem-solving; it’s about inspiring clients and sustaining the brand’s promise of luxury. Yet rising expectations for seamless, personalised interactions across multiple channels were stretching the limits of existing tools.
Consultants relied on systems designed for consumers, not for service teams. Finding products was often manual and time-consuming, limiting the ability to deliver tailored, creative suggestions in real time. The challenge was clear: how to equip consultants with advanced capabilities to meet global demand at scale without losing the personal touch at the heart of Burberry’s identity.
“What elevates this entry is the breadth of AI application, the elegance of integration, and the direct commercial and experiential impact, all built by a lean internal team, demonstrating innovation, agility, and strategic execution at scale.” – Judges’ comments
AI as a Solution
The Burberry Data Science team, just three specialists strong, partnered closely with Customer Service to design Penguin: a generative AI platform built specifically for luxury clientelling. Leveraging cutting-edge transformer models and fine-tuned large language models, Penguin empowers consultants to serve clients with unmatched speed, accuracy, and creativity.
Its innovation lies in the way multiple AI capabilities have been fused into a seamless, service-first tool:
- Natural Language Search: Consultants can enter a client’s exact phrasing (“a dress for a beach wedding” or “the coat I saw in store last week”) and instantly surface relevant results. Beyond keywords, Penguin understands context and intent, supporting multilingual queries across all Burberry markets.
- Image Recognition: Using bespoke street-to-shop object detection, Penguin can identify Burberry products within any photo (whether a campaign shot, social post, or client upload) and match them to the catalogue. This not only resolves queries quickly but also trains consultants on new collections.
- Complete the Look Outfitting: From any single product, Penguin generates personalised outfit suggestions consistent with Burberry’s brand aesthetic. By blending LLM pre-training with fine-tuning on curated Burberry looks, it transforms single-item enquiries into styling opportunities.
By consolidating these functions into one consultant-friendly platform, Penguin eliminates inefficiency while enhancing creativity.
Tangible Outcomes
Since its launch, Penguin has become integral to Burberry’s global service operations:
- Adopted by over 100 consultants worldwide across every Burberry market.
- 24% uplift in Average Transaction Value within customer service channels.
- Boosted productivity and client satisfaction, with consultants reporting streamlined workflows and richer interactions.
Beyond numbers, Penguin has elevated the art of service. Consultants now spend less time navigating systems and more time engaging meaningfully with clients resulting in a fundamental shift in the workflow.
A Benchmark for Innovation
The judges highlighted Penguin as a true example of innovation in action: AI deployed with purpose, precision, and cultural alignment. By enhancing, not replacing, the role of its advisors, Burberry has shown how generative AI can elevate human creativity in luxury retail.
With Penguin, Burberry has delivered a global innovation that others in the sector will look to emulate. This is a fusion of data science, brand identity, and human expertise that transforms both client experience and commercial outcomes.
