Sephora has long been known for its in-store beauty advisors, product discovery and loyalty-driven personalization. But as more consumers start their shopping journeys inside AI-powered platforms like ChatGPT and Claude, the retailer is moving to bring that same beauty expertise into new digital environments.
This week, Sephora announced an expanded partnership with Google, becoming the first prestige beauty retailer to enable shopping directly within Google’s AI-powered platform through Google Agentic Checkout. The experience lets shoppers discover products, ask detailed beauty questions, build a routine and check out within the Google platform, without having to leave it.
For Sephora, the launch is part of a broader AI strategy focused on meeting consumers where discovery is increasingly happening. Recent examples include the Sephora App in ChatGPT, Sephora’s proprietary AI Beauty Chat on its website and app, and AI-enabled skin diagnostics across both stores and digital channels.
“We really see that these LLMs are where consumers are now starting their discovery journey, and so we want to be where the consumer is,” said Nadine Graham, gm of e-commerce at Sephora North America, speaking at the Glossy E-Commerce Summit in Miami on Tuesday. “If the consumer moves to LLMs, we are also going to have the best Sephora experience there.”
Through the Google partnership, Sephora shoppers will be able to research products and ingredients conversationally, compare recommendations in real time, build a basket and complete checkout directly within Google. According to the company, future phases are expected to integrate Sephora’s Beauty Insider loyalty program, founded in 2007, bringing account-linked personalization into the experience.
The launch marks a significant step in Sephora’s broader effort to create what the company describes as a connected AI ecosystem. Sephora currently has 80 million active Beauty Insider members worldwide, giving it a large first-party database to inform personalization across platforms.
But, like many retailers experimenting with AI, Sephora is positioning the technology as an enhancement rather than a replacement for human service. The company’s in-store Beauty Skin Scan tool which launched in 2021, for example, uses AI to match clients with complexion and skin-care products after three facial scans. Sephora completed more than 180,000 scans per month on average last year, and the tool continues to see high engagement this year, Graham said.
“What’s really great about it is that it’s something that our beauty advisors, our store associates, use in conjunction with the client,” Graham said. “They’re the ones having the conversation, they’re the ones that see the results and then can have that meaningful conversation with the client.”
Online, Sephora is trying to replicate parts of that guided experience. Its Smart Skin Scan on the Sephora app lets users upload a selfie, receive an AI diagnostic and get a curated four-step product routine. Graham said more than 80% of consumers who start the diagnostic complete it, and those who add products to basket convert and spend at higher rates. Sephora’s AI Beauty Chat, meanwhile, is designed to narrow down the assortment, answer product questions and drive purchases within the chat. More than 20% of consumers who use the chat make a purchase the same day, Graham said.
As AI search and conversational commerce reshape product discovery, Sephora is also investing in how its brand and product information show up across large language models. Graham said strong search engine optimization remains a foundation, but AI search requires more experimentation with multimodal content, including text, images and video. Partnerships with major AI platforms are also a way to make sure the experience remains accurate and brand-safe.
“For us, to have partnerships with those larger platforms ensures that the data is accurate, the products that we are showing are the right ones and the advice that we’re giving is the right advice,” Graham said.
Still, Graham said the company does not see AI replacing stores or beauty advisors. Beauty remains an emotional and tactile category, where consumers often want to try, touch and smell products before buying. In that sense, Sephora’s AI strategy is not about moving away from the human relationship but instead about extending it into the places where shoppers are increasingly spending time.
“We want to use AI in ways that are making the consumer journey easier and more helpful and intuitive, while also keeping that human touch that is so important in beauty,” Graham said. “It’s augmenting the work of the beauty advisor, not replacing it.”
