Will you let a Shiseido chatbot be your beauty consultant?

Shiseido has launched a new AI chatbot which looks to act like a beauty consultant providing expert beauty advice. The chatbot was developed in collaboration with the Equator programme and is housed on Facebook Messenger. Through the move, Shiseido aims to bring what was previously only available over beauty counters to the smartphone.According to a press statement on the move, the chatbot was developed through the involvement of a wide pool of developers ranging from students to industry experts. This contributed to bot learning and natural-conversation development for a chatbot that looks to not only be beautiful but also smart. The initiative aims to transform the way women engage with beauty, and how they make beauty choices and purchases in an increasingly connected world.Currently, the chatbot is backed by real-time, geo-located data and a personalisation algorithm. This allows the bot to convert conversations into customised solutions from skincare recommendations to beauty suggestions, changing the way women relate to beauty in their daily lives. According to the statement, the chatbot is also capable of using “natural language” to interact with customers. This includes giving skin care tips, recommend products and suggest make-up based on photos of objects uploaded by consumers.According to Sandy Low, regional digital and CRM Director, Shiseido Asia Pacific, Shiseido needed a new way to engage and personalise the brand experience for its customers. As such, the company has been working closely with its in-store Shiseido beauty consultants by collecting customer insights and using these data to recreate the in-store experience online. In December 2017, the chatbot is poised for another update which will incorporate customer relationship management, sampling and redemptions.“Shiseido as a brand and group, has always had innovation, customer centricity and people at its core values since the beginning. And we want to stay relevant to our consumers, in an ever changing environment,” Low added.