Lily AI CEO on why AI is the important thing to higher magnificence product discovery

In an more and more aggressive digital market, cosmetics and private care manufacturers face mounting strain to make sure their merchandise are simply discoverable, clearly communicated, and precisely aligned with evolving shopper expectations.

A latest survey of over 2,000 shoppers by product content material optimization platform Lily AI highlighted a major disconnect between how merchandise are described on-line and the way buyers truly seek for them, with {industry} jargon usually serving as a barrier relatively than a bridge to conversion.

From complicated product names and imprecise descriptors to overly technical language, “service provider communicate” can hinder discovery and drive shoppers away. The report’s knowledge confirmed that 80% of buyers have deserted a search as a result of unclear or ineffective product descriptions, and 85% are keen to modify manufacturers after they can’t discover what they’re on the lookout for.

On this CosmeticsDesign Q&A, Purva Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO at Lily AI shared insights on how synthetic intelligence helps CPG manufacturers overcome these challenges.

CDU: The analysis highlights that {industry} jargon in product descriptions can confuse shoppers and hinder product discovery. What are some frequent examples of “service provider communicate” within the magnificence and private care {industry}, and the way can AI assist manufacturers translate technical product particulars into consumer-friendly language?

Purva Gupta (PG): “Service provider communicate” refers back to the {industry} jargon, usually technical, scientific, brand-specific, or marketing-heavy language, utilized by each the service provider and advertising groups of shops and types. This insider language usually doesn’t resonate with shoppers and misses the boat utterly in shopper search and discovery efforts.

For instance, within the magnificence {industry}, overly technical product descriptions like “encompasses a patented bio-fermented complicated that enhances epidermal renewal on the mobile degree” is a typical kind of “service provider communicate.” Does anybody seek for that? And after they learn it, do they even know what which means?

One other instance, much less on the technical entrance, but extra on the model voice entrance…a magnificence product known as “Glow Play Cushiony Blush in Warmth Index.” What’s a “cushiony” blush? What coloration is “Warmth Index”? What does “Glow Play” do for me?

Right this moment, AI can clear up one of many greatest challenges for retailers: serving to shoppers discover the best merchandise that meet their distinctive and customized wants rapidly and simply. Our latest analysis report uncovered that two-thirds (66%) of individuals consider that retailers use product language and descriptions that make it too difficult for them to seek out what they need.

AI will help with this by dynamically optimizing product content material — each on the entrance finish for shopper-facing content material and the again finish for AI and search engine consumption — so manufacturers and retailers can guarantee their merchandise are precisely described, simply found, and exactly related to what shoppers need. AI empowers retailers to stability merchant-and marketer-driven language with consumer-centric attributes and duplicate, bettering readability and confidence from the very first search by way of to buy.

This new technology of AI ranges the taking part in area. It helps companies of all sizes enhance product visibility, enhance search relevance, and personalize advertising at scale. Retailers who embrace AI-optimized product content material are higher outfitted to satisfy shoppers the place they’re, guaranteeing the best merchandise seem on the proper time — driving discovery, connection, and conversion.

CDU: How does AI-powered product content material optimization particularly enhance searchability for cosmetics and private care merchandise? Are you able to share examples of how magnificence manufacturers have efficiently leveraged AI to enhance product descriptions and drive conversions?

PG: Product content material optimization (PCO) is the automated, dynamic technique of enriching product knowledge with shopper, service provider, marketer, and machine-friendly product info. With PCO built-in throughout a retailer’s promoting and e-commerce stack, magnificence manufacturers and retailers can enhance product discoverability throughout conventional channels like Google (all surfaces), TikTok, Meta (e.g. Fb, Instagram), e-commerce websites and marketplaces, in addition to generative-AI powered engines like google.

Lily AI’s platform analyzes shopper searches and dynamically enriches product knowledge with consumer-centric language that’s custom-made and optimized for the distinctive specs of a given platform. The product content material enhancements span attributes, synonyms, traits, phrases, titles, and lengthy and brief descriptions in each consumer-facing and backend contexts.

For instance, if a lipstick is described as “ginger,” however a shopper is on the lookout for “peach,” the platform, drawing on the most important proprietary library of human-labeled knowledge and industry-specific observations and learnings, will perceive that “ginger” might be correlated to “peach,” “delicate orange” or “heat beige,” enabling the “ginger lipstick” to point out up in outcomes when somebody searches for “peach lipstick” or “summer season shade lipstick.”

Product content material optimization additionally ensures retailers have sufficient descriptors and context associated to their merchandise that buyers additionally get the small print they should encourage a purchase order resolution.

And what’s great about in the present day’s AI options is that we are able to incorporate model voice into the optimized content material so {that a} model’s merchandise can nonetheless be differentiated from their opponents and stay distinctive within the thoughts of the patron.

Estée Lauder Corporations, Sephora, and L’Oréal every proceed to impress us with their AI-powered customer-centric methods. Whereas particular person manufacturers are experimenting with attention-grabbing initiatives as properly, we expect these three pioneers are ones to observe for inspiration and outcomes!

CDU: The examine discovered that 80% of shoppers have deserted a search as a result of ineffective product descriptions. What are the largest errors magnificence manufacturers make in the case of on-line product descriptions, and the way can they right them to enhance the buying expertise?

PG: Shoppers know the kind of product they need for his or her customized magnificence routine and anticipate magnificence retailers to have the ability to assist them meet their wants rapidly and relevantly. In consequence, retailers and types should reevaluate how they describe their merchandise on-line to higher align with the phrases that buyers usually use in a search.

Right this moment, “merchant- and marketer-speak” is utilized manually by each eCommerce and advertising groups looking for to encourage and differentiate, but as a result of guide processes and a dominant deal with romance copy, we find yourself seeing:

• Inherent subjectivity can create inconsistencies in output, relying on the one that is manually inputting info
• Human error creates incomplete, inaccurate, unclear, and irrelevant knowledge
• A elementary lack of automation that creates inefficiencies and course of overhead

Sadly, industry-driven product content material is often void of each pure shopper language and contextual understanding (“consumer-speak”). It’s additionally not optimized for AI, whereby brokers and algorithms (“machine-speak”) are actually making rational selections and taking impartial actions.

Does anybody actually seek for “Garance” or “Dragon Woman” purple lipstick? Do they store for “Warmth Index Cushiony Blush?” Most likely solely those that are fortunate sufficient to be shopping for a second time round! Let’s not make these first-time purchasers accomplish that a lot work to attach with the brand new merchandise they might like to try to use of their every day routines.

Magnificence manufacturers and retailers should meet prospects the place they’re, which is commonly on the very starting. By recognizing that the net buying expertise is evolving, particularly with regard to the place shoppers are discovering and trying to find merchandise and the way they search, magnificence manufacturers can actually make their mark.

Because the traces between digital commerce and digital advertising blur, people who swiftly undertake applied sciences to boost product descriptions and optimize search and discovery experiences wherever they happen will win the shopper’s coronary heart, face, and nails.

CDU: With 85% of shoppers keen to modify manufacturers if they’ll’t discover what they’re on the lookout for, how can cosmetics and private care manufacturers guarantee they’re not shedding prospects as a result of poor product descriptions or ineffective search phrases?

PG: Shoppers know what they need and wish it now. Our report uncovered that greater than half of shoppers (57%) mentioned they use a retailer’s search bar when buying on-line and expressed the significance of the outcomes being related and aligned to their search.

Nonetheless, if buyers aren’t capable of finding what they’re on the lookout for, they’re keen to go elsewhere to seek out it. And to be clear, once we say they know what they need, they’re looking out with phrases and phrases equivalent to “light-weight on a regular basis blush” or “pure trying blush with a refined dewy glow, not shiny.”

 Once they know the model, definitely they may use the branded phrases “delicate glam satin basis” or “classic single extract essence,” but most of the time, when on the lookout for one thing new to satisfy a selected want of their magnificence life, they’re utilizing much more colloquial and easy language.

Using product content material optimization (PCO) is vital for the wonder {industry} to make sure they continue to be in sync with their prospects and never make them do an excessive amount of work to grasp their merchandise with complicated, brand- and industry-specific descriptions. When accomplished appropriately, the “lustreglass sheer-shine lipstick ” from Model A is extra prone to come up in a Gen Zer’s seek for an “eco-friendly sheer lip coloration” on TikTok, in addition to a Gen Xer’s seek for a “gentle shiny lipstick with pure elements” on Google.

Through the use of AI, all of the ways in which shoppers seek for merchandise can now be understood and answered with the optimum merchandise, making it simpler for individuals to seek out precisely what they need, irrespective of the place they store or search.

CDU: The survey discovered that 71% of buyers are keen to spend extra after they have a very good search expertise. What’s the potential income impression for magnificence and private care manufacturers that spend money on AI-driven product content material optimization, and what metrics ought to they monitor to measure success?

PG: The potential income impression for magnificence and private care manufacturers investing in AI-driven product content material optimization is critical. With 71% of buyers keen to spend extra after a seamless search expertise, magnificence manufacturers that optimize their product content material for each shoppers and AI-powered engines like google — Google AI Overviews, Google Gemini, Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity, or others — are higher positioned to seize elevated buyer spend, drive increased conversion charges, and enhance general gross sales.

AI-optimized content material ensures merchandise present up in related search outcomes, decreasing friction within the path to buy. It additionally implies that after the patron finds what they’re on the lookout for, the product consists of sufficient particulars within the type of descriptions, highlights, pictures, movies, and critiques to shut the sale.

This results in increased discoverability, stronger shopper engagement, and in the end, improved loyalty — particularly essential in extremely classes like magnificence and private care.

Specifically, in the case of measuring success, our model purchasers monitor key metrics equivalent to: enhancements to Google High quality Scores and Advert Rank, impressions elevate, clicks, PDP visits, conversion, and most significantly, gross sales progress. By specializing in these indicators, manufacturers can straight tie AI content material optimization efforts to measurable income progress and long-term shopper loyalty.

CDU: As AI continues to form e-commerce within the magnificence {industry}, what rising traits ought to cosmetics and private care manufacturers concentrate on?

PG: One space that I’m most enthusiastic about is Agentic AI, and I feel it’s one thing all of us have to pay shut consideration to – it’s right here to remain and can solely get higher, and it’ll get higher in brief order, too. I do know that some individuals say Agentic is within the midst of a significant hype cycle, and whereas which may be true in sure regards, I nonetheless assume it’s essential for retailers and types to rapidly analysis related options to their current challenges, undertake early and experiment with a view to stay aggressive and related.

When product knowledge foundations are correct, related, wealthy, and optimized, Agentic AI options can play a worthwhile function in autonomously and proactively analyzing info and conditions, making high-quality selections, and appearing independently. This can enable people to carry out artistic and higher-level technique and decision-making work.

 This yr, issues will transfer quick, however the creativity, particularly in such a human-centric {industry}, will stay with individuals whereas AI will be capable to push ahead how that creativity will get into the palms of buyers.

We have to be receptive to doing issues very otherwise and leveraging AI to do what it does finest. Importantly, we have to bridge the hole in language between manufacturers and shoppers. With AI, it’s a reasonably straightforward but extremely profitable repair. Blissful prospects spend cash and grow to be model loyalists – and that may be a lovely consequence for everybody!