Mars expands Google Cloud AI tie-up with Gemini Enterprise

Mars has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud, selecting Gemini Enterprise as the main AI platform for its global workforce across its Petcare, Snacking, and Food & Nutrition operations.

The consumer goods group is giving employees access to AI assistants for multi-step tasks, along with a single platform for search and for building internal AI tools. The aim is to reduce friction between separate applications and make it easier for staff to use information stored across longstanding systems and data sets.

Mars, a family-owned business with annual sales of more than USD $65 billion, has a large international footprint spanning food, confectionery, pet care products, veterinary services, and diagnostics. Its brand portfolio includes M&M'S, Ben's Original, Royal Canin, Pedigree, Whiskas, Snickers, Pringles, and Cheez-It. Its veterinary network includes Banfield, BluePearl, VCA, and AniCura.

The broader plan centres on Mars IQ, the company's internal AI platform architecture. Gemini Enterprise will sit within that structure as a common layer through which employees can access company knowledge and create task-specific agents using low-code and no-code tools.

Workflows first

The initial focus is on end-to-end business processes tied to demand planning and employee productivity. Teams in marketing, sales, and research and development are beginning to use the system to support work such as innovation, research, creative briefs, and early brand materials.

Mars also described a unified enterprise search function that lets employees query information across the company's infrastructure. One example was a research scientist using internal nutritional studies alongside current market data to identify trends, replacing work that had previously taken months with a much faster search process.

Employees will also be able to build their own AI assistants for specific operational tasks. Examples include factory diagnostic tools for technicians on production lines and assistants for supply chain work related to ingredient sourcing alternatives.

According to Mars, those tools will be subject to governance controls within Gemini Enterprise to help keep internally built applications secure and compliant. The emphasis reflects broader concerns among large companies about the spread of disconnected AI tools across departments and the risks of fragmented data access.

"Our digital investments at Mars enable unlocking the potential of our Associates and delivering real, sustainable business value that supports our growth. Our strategic partnership with Google Cloud on Gemini Enterprise builds on years of great learnings and innovation and strengthens the modular architecture powering our proprietary AI platform, Mars IQ," said Marina F. Bellini, Global Head of Digital Technologies, Mars, and President, Mars Global Services.

Bellini's remarks position the latest agreement as part of a longer effort to build a common digital structure rather than deploy isolated AI products in different parts of the business. For companies with large legacy estates, that approach can simplify adoption and oversight.

"The magic of Mars is our brilliant Associates, our iconic brands, and our ever-learning culture we operate in. This unified platform puts us in a great position to put business solutions at the core with technology as the enabler. We see incredible potential in our partnership as we bring solutions like One Demand AI to Mars - accelerating our growth pillars of innovation, brand building, and end-to-end sales execution," said Gülen Bengi, Lead Global Chief Marketing Officer, Mars, and Global Chief Growth Officer, Mars Snacking.

Google Cloud presented the agreement as an example of AI being embedded into everyday business processes rather than used only for isolated experiments. The company has been promoting Gemini Enterprise as a workplace tool that combines access to models, data, and internal search with support for custom agents.

"Mars is pioneering a model where AI acts as a collaborative partner to the workforce. Gemini Enterprise brings the best of Google to every employee, for every workflow. It provides Mars Associates with the digital tools they need to innovate while maintaining the company's rigorous operational standards and legendary creative spark," said Karthik Narain, Chief Product and Business Officer, Google Cloud.