AI commerce moves deeper into beauty and retail

L’Oréal Group has formed a strategic partnership with OpenAI to explore AI applications across beauty research, marketing and consumer discovery. The collaboration will bring brands including Maybelline New York into ChatGPT, with Maybelline also participating in a virtual try-on experiment. L’Oréal also plans to strengthen product discovery in ChatGPT across US brands such as Lancôme and Kérastase, while Skinceuticals, Cerave and Garnier are part of ChatGPT’s global ad pilot.

AI shopping is becoming a central battleground for major platforms. Meta has introduced business AI agents for Whatsapp that can answer queries, book appointments, recommend products and close sales, potentially expanding clienteling beyond top customers. Google has unveiled Universal Cart and Gemini Spark, while Amazon, Alibaba and OpenAI are also testing or refining AI-led shopping tools that shift product discovery from storefronts and search keywords toward conversational interfaces.

Regulators and cultural institutions are moving in parallel. The UK plans to ban social media access for under-16s next year and prohibit AI chatbots enabling romantic companionship for under-18s. Publishers have sued Meta over alleged copyright infringement in AI training, Cate Blanchett has launched RSL Media to create a human consent standard for artists, and Pope Leo XIV has called for AI to be regulated and “disarmed”.