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Rakuten's AI Revolution: Shaping the Future of Business, Technology and customer use cases

Rakuten solidified its position as a leader in AI innovation, driving transformative change across its global ecosystem. The company introduced several groundbreaking AI initiatives that are reshaping industries, empowering businesses, and enhancing customer experiences. These initiatives, including high-performance Japanese large language models (LLMs), Rakuten Link AI, and Rakuten Analytics, demonstrate Rakuten's unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence.

Pioneering AI Solutions for a Changing World

Rakuten's latest AI offerings have set a new standard for innovation, each designed to tackle different aspects of business and consumer needs.

Japanese Large Language Models (LLMs): These advanced AI models are tailored to understand and process the intricacies of the Japanese language, offering a level of nuance and accuracy that enhances communication and decision-making.
Rakuten Link AI: This AI-powered tool is revolutionizing mobile customer service, making it faster, more efficient, and more personalized.
Rakuten Analytics: Offering businesses the ability to gain actionable insights from their data, Rakuten Analytics helps organizations make smarter decisions, optimize their operations, and drive growth.

Strategic Partnerships Fueling AI Growth

A key highlight of Rakuten's AI journey was the strengthening of strategic partnerships with industry giants like OpenAI and L'Oréal Japan. These collaborations allowed Rakuten to expand its AI capabilities, enabling the development of more sophisticated, AI-driven solutions.

These partnerships have allowed Rakuten to continuously demonstrate the immense potential of AI in improving efficiency, driving innovation, and creating value across a diverse range of industries.

Transforming Industries with AI-Powered Solutions

Rakuten's AI innovations extend far beyond internal applications. The company has played a crucial role in transforming entire industries:

Telecom Operations: AI-powered solutions are revolutionizing how telecom companies operate, driving efficiency and personalization.
E-Commerce: AI is enhancing the online shopping experience, providing tailored recommendations, optimizing pricing strategies, and improving customer support.
Customer Service: Through intelligent automation and AI-driven insights, Rakuten is helping companies across sectors deliver faster and more personalized service to their customers.

How Rakuten's Business Applications Are Driving Growth and Efficiency

Rakuten AI for Business, a new artificial intelligence platform to be provided by Rakuten and powered by OpenAI. The two companies will work together to design and deliver services that empower business customers with cutting-edge AI solutions for improving operations, strengthening connections with customers and driving better results. Rakuten AI for Business is available now through invitation only, with plans to expand the offering in 2025. For example:

Rakuten AI Analyst answers complex business questions with organized data, compelling charts and actionable insights.

Rakuten AI Agent assists professionals in real time to help provide better, faster, smarter customer service.

Rakuten AI Librarian synthesizes and summarizes all of the client's documentation to answer questions from customers in seconds.

Generative AI services for businesses is designed to enhance various business activities for corporate clients. It offers a range of AI-powered features that improve efficiency, ensure security, and integrate internal documents for seamless operations.

Key Features

Ting Cai, Rakuten Group Chief Data Officer, commented, “Our vision for Rakuten AI for Business centers on our commitment to making AI a force for good that augments humanity, drives productivity and fosters prosperity. OpenAI has pioneered Generative AI technology and I am extremely excited about this collaboration to bring cutting-edge innovation to businesses.”

From Data to Delight: Real-World Use Cases of Rakuten's AI Enhancing Customer Value

“By delivering personalized experiences to our customers, we increase our customer trust, earn their loyalty and deliver more business value to our merchants,” ~Ting Cai

How Rakuten is Revolutionizing Customer Experience with AI

Rakuten has firmly positioned itself at the forefront of AI integration, bringing cutting-edge technology to various services and creating real-world value for customers across multiple touchpoints. From personalized shopping experiences to advanced customer support and business analytics, Rakuten is continually using artificial intelligence to enhance how we interact with products and services.

Personalized Shopping Experiences

One of the standout areas where Rakuten has leveraged AI is personalization. By analyzing vast amounts of customer data, Rakuten offers tailored shopping experiences that are unique to each user. This means that shoppers on Rakuten Ichiba and other platforms are presented with relevant product recommendations based on their individual behavior, preferences, and past purchases.

Deep personalization ensures that every customer sees products and offers that resonate with their interests, making the shopping experience both seamless and highly relevant.
This level of personalization not only improves customer satisfaction but also boosts conversion rates and loyalty, helping Rakuten retain its position as a leader in the e-commerce space.

AI-Powered Customer Support

Customer support is another area where Rakuten has made significant strides with AI. The introduction of AI-powered chatbots, such as the Rakuten Mobile AI Assistant, has transformed how customers receive assistance.

These chatbots can instantly respond to customer inquiries, dramatically reducing wait times and improving the overall support experience.
By understanding natural language, these AI assistants make interactions feel more human and intuitive, resulting in a more engaging and satisfying customer service experience.

This AI-driven support not only enhances the speed and efficiency of customer interactions but also boosts customer satisfaction by providing immediate, accurate responses.

Empowering Businesses with Rakuten Analytics

Rakuten's AI solutions aren't just about enhancing the customer experience—they also help businesses thrive. Rakuten Analytics is a powerful tool that provides actionable insights derived from customer data.

Businesses can refine their marketing strategies, understand consumer behavior, and improve product offerings, all thanks to Rakuten's AI-driven analytics platform.
By harnessing the power of AI to process and analyze vast amounts of data, Rakuten ensures that brands can make smarter, data-backed decisions that ultimately drive growth and engagement.

With these insights, businesses can better tailor their offerings and marketing campaigns, ensuring they resonate with their target audiences.

Optimizing Telecom Networks with AI

Another impressive application of AI is in Rakuten's telecom operations. Through its RAN (Radio Access Network) Intelligent Controller technology, Rakuten is using AI to optimize network performance, something critical in today's hyper-connected world.

This AI innovation not only helps reduce energy consumption and improve efficiency but also ensures that customers receive better, more reliable services.
By utilizing AI to monitor and adjust network performance, Rakuten is providing telecom customers with an enhanced experience that is both cost-effective and sustainable.

AI in the Beauty Industry

Rakuten is also applying AI to revolutionize the beauty industry. In partnership with L'Oréal Japan, Rakuten is using AI to personalize beauty product recommendations based on individual customers' skin types and preferences.

This AI-powered personalization enhances the retail experience by offering customers tailored product suggestions that match their unique needs.
By bringing this level of personalization to the beauty space, Rakuten is helping brands deliver a more engaging, relevant, and satisfying shopping journey for their customers.

Beyond Today: What's Next for AI at Rakuten?

“Artificial intelligence is not just a tool for automation. It's also the key to unlocking innovation across industries. Rakuten AI is at the core of everything we do. By driving the future of commerce, finance and technology.”– Hiroshi Mikitani

As we look towards the future, Rakuten's AI journey is just beginning. The company has made incredible strides in the AI space, revolutionizing customer experiences, optimizing operations, and shaping new business opportunities. But what's next for AI at Rakuten? Here are some exciting developments on the horizon.