Consumers research beauty products through search engines, reviews, social media and brand websites. Generative AI is becoming another part of that journey. For beauty brands, this creates an additional reason to invest in product testing and communicate product properties clearly and accurately.
A conversation with AI allows consumers to combine several needs in a single query. They can describe their skin, list the products they already use, set a budget and ask for comparisons. Follow-up questions help them clarify uncertainties and narrow their choices.
In this process, the available product information matters. Does it explain the product’s intended use, how to apply it, its claimed benefits and the evidence supporting those claims?
AI Is Becoming Part of the Beauty Purchase Journey
The BCG + WWD State of Beauty 2026 report, based on a survey of approximately 5,000 US adults, identifies a highly engaged consumer segment called “Optimizers.” These consumers combine traditional beauty products with aesthetic procedures and solutions related to performance and longevity.
According to BCG, approximately 75% of this group use AI for research, while around one in four treat it as a primary source. These findings should not be applied to all beauty consumers: Optimizers represented approximately 6% of the US adults surveyed. However, they offer insight into how highly engaged consumers research their options.
For brands, this means customers may discover and compare products through AI-generated answers. It is therefore worth examining whether publicly available product materials provide specific answers to questions that arise before purchase.
What Are Consumers Looking for Through AI?
Spate’s “AI Search in Beauty: How Consumers Are Using ChatGPT vs. Google Search” report, published in September 2025, presents examples of queries about skincare and hair care.
Its US analysis includes needs such as:
a fragrance-free toner for sensitive skin;
the differences between AHA, BHA and PHA toners;
whether toner is necessary in a skincare routine;
a lightweight conditioner for fine hair;
a comparison between protein and moisturising conditioners.
These examples come from the report’s analysis of August 2025 data. They illustrate an interest in matching products to specific needs, comparing their functions and understanding their place in a routine.
For product development teams, these questions provide useful direction. A search for a conditioner that will not weigh down fine hair points to an expected user experience. A question about whether toner is necessary concerns the product’s function. Comparing acids reflects a need to understand the differences between available options.
From Consumer Questions to an R&D Brief
At MG Evolution®, we also consider these needs from a product development perspective. They help define project requirements more precisely and connect consumer expectations with the properties of the finished product.
A well-developed brief should answer three fundamental questions.
Who Is the Product For?
The target audience should be defined by skin or hair needs and the intended way of using the product. “Hair conditioner” gives a development team less direction than specifying a product intended to improve detangling while leaving fine hair feeling lightweight.
What Function Should It Serve?
The brief should establish a specific benefit and the product’s place in a routine. Will it be an everyday essential, an additional step or a product designed to address a particular need?
A clearly defined function supports decisions about formulation, application and subsequent communication.
How Will Its Claimed Properties Be Assessed?
During project planning, it is worth identifying the evidence needed to support the intended claims. This helps keep formulation development, testing and product descriptions aligned from the outset.
“Proven Efficacy”: What Does the Claim Actually Explain?
A broad claim does not tell customers which benefit was assessed. They may still be unsure what was measured, under which conditions and after how long.
When presenting study results, it is useful to answer four questions.
What Was Assessed?
The description should identify the specific property or benefit evaluated. Was it skin hydration, perceived smoothness, ease of detangling or another product attribute?
Defining the assessed outcome precisely helps customers understand what the claim actually covers.
Which Method Was Used?
It should be clear whether the finding comes from an instrumental measurement, an expert assessment or participant feedback. Each provides a different type of information.
Product descriptions should preserve this distinction. Participants’ perceptions of moisturisation should not be presented as an instrumental measurement of skin hydration.
Which Group Was Included?
The study population also matters. Information about the participants helps readers understand how the findings relate to their own needs.
For a product intended for a particular skin or hair type, the description should make the relevant study context clear.
After How Long?
An effect assessed after one application and a result observed after several weeks of regular use answer different questions. The description should specify the assessment period and any relevant conditions of use.
When sharing findings, brands should preserve their actual scope and limitations. The aim is to translate the evidence accurately into information that consumers can understand.
Ingredient Information and Finished-Product Evidence
Product descriptions should distinguish between knowledge about individual ingredients and findings relating to the finished formulation.
The presence of an ingredient helps explain the product concept. It should not automatically be used as evidence for every claimed effect of the finished cosmetic.
Similarly, an INCI list cannot answer every purchase question. It can help consumers identify particular substances, but it does not fully explain the application experience or the results of product testing.
A useful product page therefore brings together several types of information: intended use, ingredients, application instructions, user experience and appropriately presented evidence supporting the claims.
A Checklist: Does Your Product Description Answer Customers’ Questions?
Before publishing a product page, review it from the perspective of someone comparing several options.
Intended use: Is it clear who the product is for and which need it addresses?
Benefits: Does the description explain specific product properties?
Application: Are the instructions and recommended frequency of use clear?
Routine: Can customers understand where the product fits into their skincare or hair care routine?
Ingredients: Is ingredient information distinguished from findings about the finished product?
Testing: Are study results presented with relevant context, including the method, participant group and assessment period?
Consistency: Do the website, packaging and sales materials communicate consistent information?
Comparison: Can customers understand what distinguishes the product from similar options?
This review can reveal information gaps that make purchase decisions more difficult, whether customers read the product page themselves or use AI to help research their options.
Connecting Formulation, Testing and Communication
The development of AI gives brands another reason to organise their product knowledge and make it available in a clear, accessible form. Publishing information alone does not guarantee that an AI tool will find it, interpret it correctly or include it in a recommendation.
At MG Evolution®, the priority is consistency across the process. A product should address a defined need, its claimed properties should have appropriate support, and its description should accurately reflect the available evidence.
The more precisely a brand describes its product and study results, the more concrete information customers have — including when they turn to AI for answers.