AI can create effective content and marketing strategies, but thoughtful and skilled humans behind the technology are still needed to really make it work.
That’s the gist from executives of top brands in beauty, fashion, and technology, speaking at the recent 6th annual Global Beauty & Fashion AI Forum. The event was hosted in New York by Perfect Corp., the developer of “Beautiful AI” and “PerfectGPT” tools.
Here are three big takeaways about AI and augmented reality in the fields of beauty, fashion, and wellness:
Consumers are Getting More Insights and Better Diagnoses About Their Skin
Consumers using AI tools have access to more and better knowledge about their skin than ever before, while medical professionals are incorporating it for more accurate patient diagnoses. Alicia Criner, Global Head of Digital and Media at Galderma, explained:
AI definitely enhances the consumer experience in the industry. A perfect example is eczema or psoriasis, which is known for redness, itchiness and flakes. It looks very different across the Fitzpatrick scale, which is what we use for different skin tones. So Fitzpatrick 1 is a very fair skin, all the way up to Fitzpatrick 6.
Now that (consumers) have AI, they can submit photos and actually see what it looks like for their skin type. Or, we have doctors using it to better inform diagnoses.
People get misdiagnosed all the time across health care — in particular for skincare — so it’s such a great time to get more accuracy, more access to clinical data, and again to empower yourselves as consumers and patients for skincare.
Less than 30 percent of Americans have access to dermatologists. AI is really putting the power back in the hands of consumers — understanding is it a mole, is it a pimple, is it redness, is it acne? There are many ways to better understand your skin and its needs.
Augmented Reality is the Next Big Thing in Product Packaging
AI is integrating far more into product packaging — whether supplying personalized customer education, virtual try-ons, or just-for-fun experiences via holograms and more.
Dr. Brent Ridge, co-founder of Beekman 1802, ventured into the latter realm in 2022 when his skincare company collaborated with the hit Netflix series Bridgerton. He recounted:
At the time when Bridgerton first launched, there was so much being made about their color-blind casting and about the unique way they were using modern music and reinterpreting classical style.
And we thought, wouldn’t this be an interesting way to look at augmented reality? I believe we were one of the first beauty brands to actually embed augmented reality into our packaging (via the Artivive app).
We really do see augmented reality as a key component of sustainability in packaging in the future.
We’re a small company, we don’t have a huge budget, and yet still we managed to do this.
We can see a world in the future where you walk into Sephora or Ulta and every single person has a completely different experience. So instead of having to use a lot of excess packaging or plastic to engage and excite the consumer, they will be able to just hold up their phone and have a unique, augmented experience.
Don’t Know How to Use AI for Marketing? Google It.
Ariane Pol, Global Head of Research for Creative Works at Google, was asked how consumers can use the platform’s AI tools and features to “revolutionize the marketing and creative processes for beauty and fashion brands.”
Here’s her answer:
I like to think of (AI) as a thought partner that can help throughout the creative and marketing process.
Google has launched a lot of different tools including image generation and video generation. There’s not one solution that will help do it all, it’s more a combination of different tools.
But it’s important to think through your process — from research to ideation and creation — and how you can leverage these technologies to help you be much more efficient.
We've been in a world where marketers have more and more to do. Now is the time to do more with less and to use these technologies to supercharge your power.
Focus on brand and marketing strategy, which is what you really excel at, and let the tools do the nitty gritty for you.
I always say a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video might be worth a few million.
All these tools are there to help and elevate the work. Think through how you can take what you’re working on and create infinite versions of that, and test and learn very fast what works for your business.
And you’re doing that at a speed and skill that would have never been possible without AI.