Microsoft genAI tapped to protect Made in Italy products

Microsoft has teamed up with Italy's national mint on an artificial intelligence-powered chatbot that will be used to verify the authenticity of Italian products like Prosecco sparkling wine.

Microsoft Italia has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS) to collaborate on various AI-based anti-counterfeiting technologies, including a virtual assistant – based on Azure OpenAI artificial intelligence, Microsoft Copilot and IPZS proprietary models – that can verify the authenticity of products and analyse traceability data.

The collaboration has already been deployed in a pilot project with the Consortium for the Protection of DOC Prosecco, a major Italian export with more than 80 per cent of the 616m bottles produced each year sent to other countries as part of the boom in consumption in recent years.

The Italian government and the Prosecco consortium have been desperately trying to clamp down on the illegal trade, both within Italy and overseas, as counterfeiters and imitators have tried to cash in on that success. For example, in the UK – a big market for Prosecco, a campaign entitled ‘This is not Prosecco' ran a few months ago to educate consumers that the wine only comes in bottles and marketing it on tap is a "fraudulent act."  

The generative AI (genAI) chatbot, called the Brand Protection Assistant, can verify bottles by taking a picture of the government quality label on the neck of the bottle, which has a unique and traceable code along with the name and logo of the denomination.

Meanwhile, a snapshot of the wine's label can allow the chatbot to provide detailed information on the origin and characteristics of the wine and offer advice on foods that will go well with it.

The Prosecco pilot could be scaled up to include all 'Made in Italy' products, both in the agri-food sector and beyond, according to a Microsoft statement.

"The agreement between Microsoft and the Istituto Poligrafico is a real source of satisfaction for us. Consumers will be protected like never before through a simple chat that uses artificial intelligence, making access to information easier and more immediate," commented Giancarlo Guidolin, president of the Consortium for the Protection of DOC Prosecco.

"We are truly happy that our product, the result of the incessant work of all the actors in the supply chain, can be protected by implementing the use of technology," he added.