Matsuo Institute and CCC Group begin joint development of "AI Persona Agent" to model diverse consumer profiles
2026.02.12
Press Releases
Matsuo Institute Institute Inc. / Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. / CCC MK HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
Matsuo Institute Inc. (Head office: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takayoshi Kawakami; hereinafter referred to as "Matsuo Institute"), Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd. (Head office: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director, President and CEO: Yasunori Takahashi; hereinafter referred to as "CCC"), and CCC MK HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (Head office: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director, President and CEO: Yasunori Takahashi) are pleased to announce that they have begun joint research and development of "human-centered AI" that understands the diversity of consumers by utilizing lifestyle data held by the CCC Group.
In recent years, consumer values and behaviors have become increasingly diverse, making it difficult to fully grasp changing needs using traditional thinking alone. In response to these challenges, this research aims to understand each individual consumer in more depth by combining linguistic data such as questionnaires with actual behavioral data such as purchasing behavior, and to implement a "human-centered AI persona agent" based on this deep understanding in society.
Matsuo Institute was established with the shared vision of the Matsuo-Iwasawa Institute at the Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, with the aim of realizing an ecosystem of industry-academia co-creation between universities, companies, and startups. By connecting cutting-edge technologies developed in academia to industry and returning the knowledge gained through social implementation to academia, we are creating a spiral of innovation that cultivates the human resources and cutting-edge technologies that will form the foundation of the next era.
CCC is a company that creates cultural infrastructure. With this mission in mind, we are engaged in a solutions business that aims to solve problems for companies by utilizing intellectual capital, a consulting business that creates new value through partnerships and generates new business opportunities, and a retail and style business that accumulates intellectual capital while providing new value to consumers.
The central theme of the research being undertaken by the Matsuo Institute and the CCC Group is the development of an "AI Persona Agent" that can portray diverse consumer profiles from data. We will work to develop a method for generating various types of personas by organizing trends in thinking and behavior based on real-life consumer data and converting it into a format that is easy for AI to understand and use. We aim to achieve both novelty as research and practicality that can be used in practice.
This initiative will involve repeated verification using actual data, and the results will be shared with society in the form of academic publications. At the same time, we aim to provide consumers with a more satisfying experience and to provide businesses with concrete solutions such as service improvements and marketing support. We also place particular emphasis on ethics and transparency in the handling of data and the use of AI. In addition to complying with research ethics, protecting data appropriately, and preventing unauthorized use, we will also focus on the relationship between data and AI. Under the governance system of the Matsuo Institute and the CCC Group, we will continue to advance research and development while exploring how to utilize AI in a way that is trusted by society.
Through this initiative, the CCC Group aims to grasp consumer needs and changes with greater resolution and continuously improve the quality of its policies and services. Furthermore, by utilizing the abundant data available in the real world, the Matsuo Institute aims to produce academically significant research results and accumulate new knowledge regarding the social implementation of AI technology. In the future, we will generalize the ideas and mechanisms gained through research and development, leading to applications across industries and contributing to the advancement of the entire industry.
Matsuo Institute and the CCC Group will implement "human-centric AI" and work to create new value that will be useful in our future lives and society.
■ Materials related to this matter
Matsuo Laboratory and CCC Group begin joint development of "AI Persona Agent" to model diverse consumer profiles
■ Inquiries regarding this matter
Culture Convenience Club Co., Ltd.
Public Relations Department
TEL: 045-522-8154
MAIL: inquiry@ccc.co.jp