Among the breaking news at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the announcement that global prestige skin care brand, SK-II, will be partnering with Soul Machines, a company that aims to humanize artificial intelligence, to create the world’s first autonomously animated digital influencer, YUMI.

As SK-II’s first digital brand face, YUMI is being seen as an integral part of SK-II’s ongoing transformation journey to connect with a new generation of consumers who are yearning for more meaningful experiences with the brands they know and trust.  Using Google Dialogflow as its natural language platform, YUMI is capable of interacting as a human would and will not only provide beauty advice but also help consumers better understand their skin and guide them on their journey to skin transformation with PITERA Essence.

“YUMI is more than a digital influencer. She is a digital human capable of interacting and engaging in ways technology hasn’t been able to do until now,” said Sandeep Seth, Chief Executive Officer, Global SK-II, which is owned by Procter & Gamble.

“YUMI personifies our goal to combine technology and creativity to benefit customers. She provides the warmth and connection of human touch in the form of a digital experience to make the overall skin care experience at home and in store more enjoyable and compelling. We’re looking forward to customers being able to turn to her for skin care and beauty questions at any time of the day or night.”

YUMI was introduced to the world by Soul Machines co-founders, Mark Sagar and Greg Cross at the annual event in Cannes. They operate offices around the world, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles.