Historically, salespeople at shops or door-to-door have fulfilled that function. However these specialists are scarce on-line. Whereas magnificence influencers abound, they normally promote particular merchandise slightly than what shoppers need or want.
“We need to present the identical degree of service that [customers] get offline within the on-line surroundings,” Hong mentioned.
Hyper-personalization
Amorepacific was began 80 years in the past by Suh Sungwhan, whose mom, Yun Dokjeong, bottled camellia oil by hand. It was the primary Korean firm to arrange a cosmetics lab within the Nineteen Fifties and to open a magnificence counseling heart within the Nineteen Sixties. Right this moment it’s helmed by Suh’s son, Kyungbae Suh, and its well-known manufacturers embody Etude, Innisfree and Hera on the entry degree, Laneige a step up and Sulwhasoo on the luxurious finish.
Amorepacific merchandise are offered in additional than 15 markets, the most important being Korea, China and the remainder of Asia Pacific. It’s also making inroads in North America and Europe.
The group was already utilizing AI expertise on its on-line Amore Mall to drive product search, suggestions and pores and skin prognosis when generative AI burst onto the scene about three years in the past.
“We noticed how we may make it [the online experience] a conversational service,” mentioned Chikook Noh, Amorepacific’s AI Options Group Chief.
The AIBC makes use of OpenAI’s GPT 4o and 4o-mini giant language fashions on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service to reply buyer queries within the app. The underlying information is dealt with with Information Manufacturing facility on Microsoft Cloth and AI Search features in Azure AI Foundry.
The AIBC would assist overcome a spot with the corporate’s current on-line pores and skin prognosis device on Amore Mall, Noh mentioned. Presently shoppers reply a sequence of questions equivalent to “Is your pores and skin oily? (Price on a scale of 1 to five)” and take an image of their faces. It produces an total rating and dispenses recommendation on skincare and merchandise.
This pores and skin prognosis device has been used 2.5 million occasions on-line and in shops by shoppers during the last 4 years. The IT division seen an fascinating factor – when used on-line through Amore Mall, “the transition to buy tends to be on the decrease aspect,” Noh mentioned. However when utilized in a bodily retailer, “the offline price could be very excessive as a result of there’s a dialog with the gross sales assistant.”
The AI app goals to supply the type of recommendation that retailer gross sales assistants present to drive gross sales. Inputs for the AIBC will embody shoppers’ buy historical past, overview historical past in addition to on-line pores and skin prognosis. The AIBC will then converse with the buyer to find out their present pores and skin standing and what their considerations are.
A very powerful factor is the “hyper-personalization. I do know you. I do know what troubles you may have. I do know what makes you’re feeling good,” Noh mentioned.
Totally different magnificence wants
The AIBC growth crew anticipates curiosity even from those that don’t use a ton of magnificence merchandise.
Hyejin Yoon, 35, is on the different finish of the buyer spectrum from Kim, the Pilates teacher. A former Chinese language instructor for center and high-schoolers, she now stays house along with her one-year-old child on the outskirts of Seoul.
Earlier than the infant, she used numerous Amorepacific manufacturers like Hera, Primera and Hanyul. Now there’s solely time for a face wash, a toner and moisturizing cream from Illiyoon, a fragrance-free model geared toward folks with delicate pores and skin. She shares the cream along with her child.
“I’ve no time to placed on so many steps due to the infant,” she mentioned.
She seen how her pores and skin modified when she grew to become a mom. “I really feel my pores and skin is getting drier and drier,” she mentioned. “I’m uninterested in having to maintain making an attempt completely different merchandise.”
She briefly tried a check model of the AIBC app and mentioned she may see herself utilizing it, particularly if it contains facial evaluation.
The AI Magnificence Counselor is Amorepacific’s first public-facing use of generative AI.
It follows the group’s roll out in 2023 of a generative AI chat device for inside use, additionally on Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service. That has been used for every thing from summarizing medical analysis articles to creating inside designs for pop-up shops to creating advertising and marketing content material.
For the reason that AIBC entails interacting with the general public, the IT crew has additionally taken pains to anticipate doubtlessly dangerous topics equivalent to politics and faith. If a shopper touches on these topics, the AIBC will reply: “This can be a query we can not reply,” in response to Hong.
Sooner or later, the objective is for the AIBC to transcend textual content to incorporate voice and pictures and dispense recommendation not simply on skincare but additionally make-up and well being dietary supplements.
High Picture: Sion Kim, a 26-year-old Pilates teacher, mentioned she would use the AI Magnificence Counsellor app to maintain up with seasonal traits and what fits her pores and skin sort. Picture by Seong Joon Cho for Microsoft.