Beauty’s invisible architecture: How data integrity and relationship intelligence will shape the next decade of AI

For years, beauty brands have talked about preparing for an AI-powered future—only to realize that future is already here. Not with fanfare, but embedded quietly into everyday consumer behavior. Artificial intelligence is no longer a novelty layered onto digital touchpoints. It is fast becoming the structural backbone that determines how people explore, assess, and place confidence in beauty brands.

This transformation was a central topic at the AI Beauty Breakfast in New York, where executives from Revieve, NielsenIQ, and RoC Skincare came together to discuss how AI is reshaping the industry from the ground up. A shared conclusion emerged: long-term leaders will be those that build AI into their core operating model, rather than treating it as an add-on.

Beauty discovery has migrated into AI-first environments

NielsenIQ data reveals a striking shift: consumers now ask more than one billion beauty-related questions every week through ChatGPT alone. Nearly half of Gen Z and over one-third of Millennials turn to generative AI to understand skincare routines, decode ingredients, or solve specific skin concerns. The discovery process no longer starts with scrolling or searching—it begins with a conversation.

This change carries profound consequences.

In AI-driven discovery spaces, the initial guide consumers encounter has no emotional connection to your brand, no awareness of your positioning, and no loyalty. It responds solely to the quality, structure, and reliability of the information available to it.

As Anna Mayo, VP of Beauty Vertical at NielsenIQ, highlighted, success today is about more than being present—it’s about being dependable. While consumers appreciate personalization, they are equally wary of incorrect or misleading outputs. Precision and data integrity are now competitive advantages.

Digital beauty has moved beyond growth into maturity

NielsenIQ’s omnichannel insights point to a clear reality: digital beauty is no longer an emerging channel—it’s a fully established one. Online beauty sales increased by 20.1% year over year, dramatically outperforming brick-and-mortar retail growth of 1.8%, and now represent nearly half of all U.S. beauty revenue.

Yet “digital” now encompasses far more than transactions. It includes AI-driven diagnostics, predictive customer modeling, virtual try-ons, intelligent recommendations, and lifecycle engagement powered by real-time data. The beauty journey has expanded into an ongoing, personalized ecosystem that adapts continuously to consumer needs.

RoC Skincare proves AI impact is measurable

For many brands, AI still feels conceptual. RoC Skincare offered a concrete example of what execution looks like in practice. By deploying Revieve’s AI Skin Insight diagnostics alongside predictive CRM capabilities, the brand recorded substantial performance gains:

• 81% lift in conversion rates
• 129% increase in average order value
• 80% CRM opt-in rate
• 6× return on investment from predictive CRM

Consumers respond to tools that remove uncertainty. Skin-age assessments, targeted diagnostics, and customized routines replace assumptions with confidence. As RoC Skincare CMO Hilary Hutcheson explained, the most effective AI investments reinforce foundational capabilities—segmentation, timing, and experimentation—before expanding into more visible innovation.

Product intelligence becomes the new competitive frontier

Irina Mazur, Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer at Revieve, emphasized a pivotal shift: with over 25% of U.S. consumers now using generative AI to inform purchase decisions, product data must be designed for AI consumption. Inconsistent, vague, or unverified information risks being misunderstood or distorted within generative responses—much like poor SEO once buried brands in search results.

To address this challenge, Revieve introduced AI Beauty Discovery Connect, enabling brands to distribute verified, purchase-ready product information directly into AI-powered platforms such as ChatGPT, Google SGE, and Gemini. The next wave of competition will not be won by louder messaging—but by clearer interpretation.

Trust underpins every successful AI experience

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that AI’s greatest contribution isn’t efficiency—it’s reassurance. In an increasingly complex market, consumers value experiences that guide them with clarity, relevance, and empathy.

Brands that commit to ethical data practices and transparent AI interactions will earn credibility that extends beyond algorithms. Trust, once built, becomes the most scalable asset in an AI-driven ecosystem.

The future of beauty begins with a single question

AI has not replaced the beauty journey—it has become its entry point.

In an AI-first world, the brands that succeed will be those that ensure the first answer delivered by AI is accurate—and that the experience that follows feels human, meaningful, and memorable.

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