Virtual try-on technology moves from gimmick to shopping gateway
AI-powered virtual try-on technology in beauty is a set of augmented reality and artificial intelligence tools that allow shoppers to test makeup, hair colour, and other cosmetic looks on digital representations of their own faces through cameras or uploaded images before deciding what to buy.
L’Oréal’s decision to bring Maybelline’s Makeup Virtual Try-On directly into ChatGPT is the clearest signal yet that beauty try-on tools are no longer side features—they’re becoming the front door of AI beauty shopping. With more than 900 million people using ChatGPT weekly and over 50 million subscribers, L’Oréal is betting that discovery now starts in a chat window, not on a product page. Maybelline ChatGPT integration, powered by the company’s ModiFace AI and AR business, lets users test looks through a conversational interface instead of tapping through endless swatches. In practice, that turns open-ended questions like “What lipstick suits me?” into an interactive experience where virtual try-on technology delivers a tailored, visual answer instead of a static list of links.
Maybelline ChatGPT: from beauty Q&A to AI product discovery engine
Bringing Maybelline’s virtual try-on into ChatGPT is not a novelty demo—it is L’Oréal’s attempt to own the new layer of AI product discovery. The integration uses ModiFace to let users test makeup looks digitally while chatting, collapsing the gap between advice, experimentation, and purchase. Instead of typing “best foundation for oily skin” into a search bar, shoppers can ask ChatGPT, see L’Oréal products surfaced in responses, and immediately try them on virtually.
L’Oréal is also working with OpenAI to improve how its brands appear in AI-generated answers in the United States, explicitly framing the project around product discovery and advertising. Several brands, including CeraVe, SkinCeuticals, and Garnier, are already testing ads inside ChatGPT as part of a global pilot. One quotable takeaway is that L’Oréal’s Beauty Tech services have already been used more than 120 million times across 66 countries and 31 brands, proving that consumers will opt into AI-powered experiences when they feel useful, not intrusive.
CreAItech and AI-native advertising: beauty’s new operating system
Behind the Maybelline ChatGPT experience sits a much bigger strategic shift: L’Oréal’s CreAItech platform is turning AI into the company’s creative and discovery operating system. The new agreement gives L’Oréal access to OpenAI’s latest models inside CreAItech, alongside tools from other major AI providers, so internal teams can pick the right model for each creative task and channel. This is not about one favourite model; it is about building a flexible AI stack that can support everything from social videos to e-commerce assets.
L’Oréal links this infrastructure directly to AI product discovery. By feeding up-to-date product information to OpenAI, it wants ChatGPT’s answers to draw from L’Oréal’s own notes instead of relying only on reviews and forums. Gartner’s Greg Carlucci connects this push to a hard truth: generative AI is already reshaping how consumers find brands, and nearly one in five people now use generative AI tools to find information. In that context, AI-native advertising at moments of “intent and commerce” is less a nice-to-have and more a survival strategy for beauty brands whose website traffic is under pressure.
Gen Alpha proves AI beauty shopping is still physical at the finish line
If L’Oréal provides the technology story, younger shoppers provide the demand signal. A new study from a major beauty retailer and NielsenIQ shows how Gen Alpha mixes AI, personalization, and omnichannel behaviour in beauty product discovery. The research finds that 78% of these consumers discover beauty products online, but 77% still look for in-store or real-world validation before buying. Nearly three-quarters—73%—use personalization tools, and those who use AI are more likely to visit physical stores than those who do not.
This shatters the myth that AI beauty shopping will kill physical retail. Instead, AI-led discovery and beauty try-on tools appear to send younger shoppers into stores with higher intent and clearer expectations. Retailers are taking note: that same partner is investing in consumer insight and AI collaborations with large tech providers as part of a wider strategy to adapt stores and digital experiences for this behaviour. The message is blunt—if AI sits only online while store experiences stay static, brands will lose a generation that expects personalization everywhere.
The competitive race for AI-powered beauty discovery
Taken together, L’Oréal’s OpenAI partnership and retailers’ AI collaborations signal that AI-powered discovery is becoming the main competitive battleground in online beauty. L’Oréal is not only integrating Maybelline virtual try-on into ChatGPT; it is also testing ChatGPT ads, mapping the skin microbiome with GPT-Rosalind starting with La Roche-Posay, and training tens of thousands of staff in AI tools. On the retail side, investment in AI and consumer intelligence is framed as core to future merchandising and digital innovation, not a short-term experiment.
The stakes are high: whoever controls the AI-led search and recommendation layer will shape which products consumers see first, test virtually, and ultimately buy. Beauty brands that treat AI try-on as a campaign gimmick will find themselves buried under competitors that treat it as infrastructure. The conclusion is clear: in beauty, AI product discovery and virtual try-on technology are no longer optional add-ons—they are the new default path to the shelf, whether that shelf is a chat window, a website, or a store display.
