Sephora lets its own app in ChatGPT answer the questions customers already have; the new launches they are not yet looking for, it sells with creators in live broadcasts on TikTok. On Sephora's website, customers can only look at them; during the exclusivity period they can be bought only in the shop inside the social network. Both started as pilots in the United States.
Sephora demonstrates the chat pilot with the prompt "Sephora, help me find a foundation for dry skin", after which its app opens in the ChatGPT AI assistant with make-up recommendations for dry skin. Customers who link their Beauty Insider loyalty account to the app get recommendations based on the preferences in their profile. They can also redeem samples or free shipping in it. At launch, the company promised US users that they would be able to complete a purchase directly in the app only at some point in the future.
The European premium beauty retailer Douglas launched its own AI advisor, ANNA, in Germany on 16 June 2026 in its app and e-shop. Asked "Can you recommend a sunscreen for my skin type?", the advisor is supposed to recommend products from Douglas's range based on the skin type stored in the customer's profile, once Douglas links it to customer accounts in the coming months. In July 2026, AI assistants brought Czech e-shops twice as many orders as in January, according to Marketing Miner, which looked at more than a hundred e-shops. Measurable orders from AI, however, made up only 0.6% at the average e-shop.
Paying directly in an AI chat is possible at Ulta with Google
OpenAI itself backed away from its own checkout for purchases in chat on 24 March 2026, the same day Sephora launched its app. The first version of the feature, which the company called Instant Checkout, did not offer the flexibility it was aiming for. It now leaves checkout to merchants and focuses on product discovery itself. Walmart sold part of its range directly in chat. By its measurements, such products were bought by a three times smaller share of people than products where the chat sent customers to finish the purchase on its website.
The competing Ulta Beauty, an American beauty chain, offered the option to complete a purchase right where the customer asked the question. From April 2026 it was rolling out sales together with Google in AI Mode, the Search mode with AI answers, and in the Gemini app. Checkout is supposed to work there for selected purchases. In May, Google named Ulta and Sephora among the merchants where shopping through its checkout is soon to become possible. On an investor call in August, Ulta's chief executive said that Ulta with Gemini was the first to launch multi-item purchases. According to her, the AI steps are bringing a noticeable increase in website traffic and better conversion.
Both chains launch new products live on TikTok
The same investor call also covered TikTok Shop, where, according to the head of Ulta, the chain in summer 2026 presented the fragrance of rapper Ice Spice as the very first live launch of a celebrity fragrance on TikTok. According to her, both brands that want to get into Ulta's range on TikTok Shop and creators are asking to collaborate.
Sephora Drop Shop, a pilot on TikTok Shop that has been running in the US since 19 September 2026, also relies on creators. A drop, new launches from selected brands, comes out every month. A drop starts with teasers in which customers guess which brand it is, and culminates in a live broadcast where a celebrity hosts alongside brand founders and creators. In chat, the customer herself types that she is looking for make-up for dry skin; on TikTok, she only guesses which brand the retailer will show her. "On TikTok, a creator can make you want something you weren’t looking for," Ashley Banks of the e-commerce agency Iced Media told Glossy.
Creator Mikayla Nogueira took the stage in August 2026 at Sephora's annual conference in Las Vegas. In front of store managers and regional managers from the US, she announced the arrival of her brand POV Beauty in all of the chain's American stores. Before she turned to content creation full-time, she advised customers as a beauty advisor behind the counter at Ulta; in chat, Sephora's questions are now answered by the app.
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