Purina is among the first companies working with NIQ forward-deployed engineers to bring consumer intelligence into enterprise AI workflows

Five global companies have joined the ConnectAI Charter Program, with individual client announcements and case studies to follow across personal care, pet care, beauty and beverages

NielsenIQ (NYSE:NIQ), a global leader in consumer intelligence, today named Purina as the first publicly announced client in its ConnectAI Charter Program. The announcement follows NIQ’s launch of the program with five global organizations across personal care, pet care, beauty and beverages, with additional client announcements and case studies expected as engagements advance.

Through ConnectAI, NIQ forward-deployed engineers and data scientists are working within Purina’s technology environment to explore how NIQ consumer and market intelligence can support everyday AI-enabled workstreams and help teams access relevant insights more efficiently.

"Understanding the needs of pet owners requires a clear view of how consumer behaviors, shopping habits, and category trends are evolving," said Brian Donovan, Strategy and Insights, Purina. "Purina is working with NIQ to explore how its trusted intelligence can be incorporated into Purina’s everyday, AI-enabled workstreams, helping our teams access relevant consumer insights more efficiently and make informed decisions with greater confidence."

ConnectAI is an early offering within NIQ’s "Intelligence that Fuels AI" strategy and NIQ’s platform and builder model for turning consumer intelligence into decisions. It brings NIQ’s proprietary data, models, product content, analytical constructs and business context into clients’ own AI environments, where they can be combined with client data and systems to power agents and workflows around recurring business decisions.

ConnectAI complements NIQ’s purpose-built AI applications and commerce intelligence strategy, giving clients multiple ways to use NIQ intelligence: through NIQ products, within their own technology environments or through jointly developed workflows.

"Organizations are moving beyond AI experimentation and focusing on how to put AI to work in ways that are scalable, governed, and useful in real business environments," said Jim Peck, Chairman and CEO, NIQ. "ConnectAI gives clients greater access to NIQ’s uniquely detailed intelligence while keeping our proprietary data and models protected. It allows us to support the AI programs clients are already building in a way that is repeatable, secure and designed to deliver ongoing value."

Every ConnectAI charter engagement includes a dedicated team of forward-deployed engineers and data scientists who work alongside the client to configure agents and decision workflows around the organization’s operations, priorities, systems, and success measures. The model is designed to create repeatable platform services that can scale across organizations, while adapting to each client’s environment and critical workflows.

"The gap that matters in the next decade is not between companies that have AI and those that do not. Everyone will have AI," said Irina Stoian, Chief AI Commercial Officer, NIQ. "It's between companies whose AI runs on real, grounded truth about consumers and markets, and companies whose AI is guessing. We are selecting a small number of clients to build that foundation with us, inside their operations, with our engineers at their side. For those who move now, the advantage compounds."

Demand for ConnectAI is growing across FMCG and Tech & Durables as companies look to turn AI investment into business value. NIQ plans to add more charter clients in the next phase of the program, including retailers. Brands and retailers interested in working directly with NIQ forward-deployed engineering and data science teams to build AI-enabled decision workflows can express interest here.

FAQs

What is ConnectAI?

ConnectAI is NIQ’s platform and collaborative delivery model for integrating NIQ data, models, and business context into a client’s AI environment. It combines technology access with dedicated engineering and data science support to build workflows around specific business decisions.

How is ConnectAI different from existing NIQ products?

NIQ’s existing applications deliver intelligence through purpose-built NIQ experiences. ConnectAI allows clients to use NIQ intelligence within their own AI systems, applications, and workflows. The two approaches are complementary and allow clients to access NIQ capabilities in the way that best fits their business.

What are participating clients building?

Each engagement is tailored to the client. Potential use cases include demand forecasting, competitive intelligence, retail and shelf-assortment decisions, consumer and category trend detection, growth planning, and broader access to insights across the organization.

What does the NIQ builder team do?

NIQ assigns engineers and data scientists to work alongside the client’s technology, data, and business teams. Together, they configure data connections, business context, and AI-enabled workflows around the organization’s systems, priorities, and success measures.

Is ConnectAI available to all potential clients?

ConnectAI is currently being developed through an initial group of charter engagements. NIQ expects insights from these collaborations to inform the program’s continued development and future expansion.

How does ConnectAI fit within NIQ’s broader AI strategy?

ConnectAI is an early offering within NIQ’s "Intelligence that Fuels AI" pillar. NIQ’s broader strategy also includes purpose-built AI applications for commercial workflows and commerce intelligence for the emerging AI-driven shopping ecosystem.

About NIQ

NielsenIQ (NYSE:NIQ) is a leading consumer intelligence company, delivering the most complete and trusted understanding of consumer buying behavior and revealing new pathways to growth. By combining an unmatched global data footprint and granular consumer and retail measurement with decades of AI modeling expertise, NIQ builds decision systems that help companies turn complex data into confident action.

With operations in more than 90 countries, NIQ covers approximately 82% of the world’s population and more than $7.4 trillion in global consumer spend. Through cloud-based platforms, advanced analytics and AI-driven insights, NIQ delivers The Full View™—helping brands and retailers understand what consumers buy, why they buy it, and what to do next.

For more information, please visit www.niq.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the anticipated capabilities and benefits of ConnectAI Charter Program Clients, the expected benefits of AI-enabled enterprise workflows, and the future adoption of AI-native operating models. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "designed to," "explore," "future," "accelerate," "will," "should," "may," and similar references to future events or performance. These statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside our control, including changes in consumer preferences, economic conditions, technological developments, competitive dynamics, and our ability to develop, deliver and monetize new products and solutions. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Additional information on these and other risks is contained in the "Risk Factors" section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, available at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update them except as required by law.

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