IKEA brand consistency in AI is now a marketing priority, says Vincenzo Riili, IKEA Retail's global CMO.

IKEA Retail's Global CMO says that IKEA brand consistency in AI hinges upon all the words about the firm, not just their ads, since large language models take all of it into account.

At a glance

What: Vincenzo Riili told Digiday that brands need to hold their line within LLMs.

When and who: Reported October 14, 2026, from an interview arranged by Dentsu around its CMO survey.

Why it matters: These models mix ad copy, product pages, press coverage and financial filings.

The question of how an LLM redefines what constitutes "the brand".

Models don't isolate the campaign from the investor filing: ask one about a retailer and it's going to pull not just from the company's site but product pages, press and financial documents. Lots of that text is written by people who have never opened a brand book.

Riili's approach is to see the model as a channel, and the job, he says, is "using LLM, for example, to distribute your brand not to create your brand."

How is IKEA using AI now?

In phases.

The first is speed, things like adapting local content faster.

The next phase is effectiveness: better decision making and stronger customer relationships and Riili says IKEA is still learning how to do that well.

He draws a hard line at creative work. Marketing is not ready to automate content production, he said and to lean too heavily upon AI risks eroding the idiosyncratic way IKEA shows up. He talks of AI as a companion.

Why does IKEA think that its position is strong?

Riili says that the company has held the same proposition in all it does, for years, that it offers affordable, well-designed furniture for many people and he argues that brands that have tried shifting their pitch to chase some short-term sale are finding it hard to adapt now since a model can't parse their differences. That's his thinking, not some independent conclusion.

What about the voices of creators and at the level of a store?

IKEA engages with creators across many markets, sometimes down to the level of a store, some of whom are their own employees and Riili says that some have got a million views on TikTok, with the creators having freedom to speak in their own voice but with the purpose and values of the brand non-negotiable.

What does the wider data say?

Dentsu Creative's CMO survey of 1,950 senior marketers found that 81% expect AI agents to make strong brand preference more important. Another 78% are concerned that agents will make their brand experience invisible. And only 31% said they would feel very comfortable letting agents write their annual reports unaided.

Dentsu Creative's Patricia McDonald anticipated a shift from the brand book to a "brand brain" that would drive decisions across an organization.

IKEA's message is clear: models are reading the whole company, so the whole company has to say the same thing.

Business Fortune concludes that the CMO wants to get a brand further, faster with AI but not let it define what it means.

FAQs

What does IKEA brand consistency in AI mean?

It means holding the company's proposition and values the same through everything that an LLM might pull, including ads, product pages, press and filings.

Who is Vincenzo Riili?

He is global CMO of IKEA Retail. Digiday reports that he previously worked at Unilever and Google.

Is IKEA letting AI create its marketing content?

No. Riili says that marketing is not ready to automate creative work and currently uses AI for speed and local adaptation.

Why do LLMs make brand consistency harder?

They mix sources written by lots of parties, so the brand's message can be shaped by text that the company has never written.

What did the Dentsu survey find about AI and brands?

Of 1,950 senior marketers, 81% expect agents to make brand preference more important and 78% are concerned that their brand experience will become invisible.

Sources

Digiday . ContentGrip . University of Mannheim