L'Oréal and OpenAI are deepening their partnership to bring generative AI into product research, consumer experiences, and marketing, the companies announced at VivaTech 2026. The collaboration directly affects product development teams: a new life sciences model is being used to map the skin microbiome at scale, and a virtual try-on feature inside ChatGPT will change how products are discovered and tested.
AI-powered product discovery and consumer experiences
Maybelline New York will introduce its Makeup Virtual Try-On technology within ChatGPT. The feature, powered by L'Oréal's ModiFace technology, lets consumers test makeup looks through conversational AI. L'Oréal also plans to improve product discovery within ChatGPT in the United States for brands including Lancôme and Kérastase.
SkinCeuticals, CeraVe and Garnier have joined OpenAI's global ChatGPT advertising pilot. The pilot explores advertising opportunities linked to consumer intent and commerce inside AI-driven experiences. It reflects a growing interest in reaching consumers through conversational interfaces as AI becomes a larger part of the discovery and purchasing process.
Accelerating skincare research with GPT-Rosalind
Beyond consumer-facing tools, the partnership extends into research and development. Using GPT-Rosalind, OpenAI's life sciences reasoning model, L'Oréal is mapping the skin microbiome to identify beneficial bacteria and support the development of skincare products. The work will begin with La Roche-Posay and aims to speed up naturally derived skincare solutions.
The use of GPT-Rosalind to map the skin microbiome is a concrete example of how AI for Product Development is moving from theory to large-scale application.
Internal tools for content and innovation
OpenAI's latest model will also power CreAItech, L'Oréal's internal generative AI content platform. The system creates images and videos aligned with brand guidelines while supporting creative teams. According to the company, 73,000 employees have already received training in generative AI and have access to internal tools including L'OréalGPT and personal AI assistants.
Asmita Dubey, Chief Digital and Marketing Officer at L'Oréal, said: "At L'Oréal, we believe we can be more demanding of AI to augment our beauty consumers, our metiers such as Marketing and Research and our employees. Our collaboration with OpenAI structurally supports this ambition to bring new solutions within beauty vertical."
Emmanuel Marill, MD for EMEA at OpenAI, said: "L'Oréal has long combined science, creativity and technology to shape the future of beauty. We're excited to be working with their teams to support that next chapter, from accelerating research and innovation to helping employees work in new ways and creating more useful, intuitive experiences for consumers."
Why this matters for product development
L'Oréal's approach shows that AI is no longer just a marketing tool. Product developers can now use specialized models like GPT-Rosalind to analyze biological data and identify promising ingredients far faster than traditional methods. The virtual try-on integration in ChatGPT signals that product discovery is shifting to conversational interfaces, requiring development teams to think about how formulations and packaging are communicated in AI-driven environments. With a workforce already trained in generative AI and internal tools scaling across the company, the infrastructure for AI-driven product development is being built now. For product development professionals, the message is clear: integrating AI into the research and formulation pipeline is becoming a competitive necessity, not an experiment.
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