Ever wondered what’s in AI’s beauty cabinet? 5W AI Communications just found out. The company ran an AI Visibility Index across 80+ beauty prompts on ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews, addressing direct questions and concerns like "best retinol for beginners” and "best skincare for sensitive skin.” The report measured who is winning each citation surface and tracked citations across skincare, makeup, fragrance, haircare, and major beauty retailers.
Consumers are increasingly relying on AI services to influence their product preferences, with 47% reporting that they prefer AI-recommended products over traditional advice, meaning understanding citation shares is crucial in today’s beauty market. Ronn Torossian, founder of 5W, established the strong impact that AI is having on consumer behavior and, in turn, on brand success. “The 2026 beauty buyer asks ChatGPT for 'best vitamin C serum' before she opens the Sephora app,” he said in a press release.
According to the report, the top brands by AI citation share are:
1. The Ordinary (7.0%)—Leading skincare brand by AI citation share. Wins almost every "best [ingredient] serum" and "best affordable skincare" prompt, with its Niacinamide 10% + Zinc 1% being the most-cited single product in the category.
2. CeraVe (6.0%)—Its dermatologist-developed positioning produces a citation moat in "dermatologist-recommended skincare" and "barrier repair" prompts. The Foaming Facial Cleanser, Hydrating Cleanser, and PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion are among the most-cited individual products in beauty AI answers.
3. Sephora (5.5%)—Wins "where to buy luxury beauty" prompts, and several Sephora-exclusive brands earn citation surfaces adjacent to the Sephora brand.
4. La Roche-Posay (5.0%)—Its French-pharmacy heritage produces a citation moat in "sensitive skin" and "fragrance-free" prompts, with the Toleriane line among the most-cited sensitive-skin product lines in AI answers.
5. Charlotte Tilbury (4.5%)—The highest cross-category citation share of any beauty brand.
6. Drunk Elephant (4.0%)—Its Protini Polypeptide Cream scores 4.8 out of 5 on Sephora and Ulta Beauty and is among the most-cited individual skincare products.
7. Ulta Beauty (4.0%)—The Ultamate Rewards loyalty program produces citation share in "best beauty rewards program" prompts.
8. Rare Beauty (3.5%)—The fastest-growing makeup brand in beauty AI citations, with its Soft Pinch Liquid Blush being the single most-cited makeup product launched within the last five years.
9. Skinceuticals (3.0%)—Wins "best vitamin C serum for advanced users" and "dermatologist-office skincare" prompts.
10. Tatcha (2.8%)—The Water Cream, The Rice Polish, and The Dewy Skin Cream each have independent citation footprints, and strong cross-cultural skincare citation share.
The report found that ingredient-led skincare tended to perform better with citations, with The Ordinary, CeraVe, La Roche-Posay, and Drunk Elephant accounting for roughly 22% of all skincare AI citations across the 80+ prompts. At the same time, brands that have strong cross-category identities, like Charlotte Tilbury and Rare Beauty, are outperforming their competitors, particularly by combining a distinct brand identity with wider online and cultural recognition to enhance their credibility and media attention.
This idea of cultural credibility in conversation with retail distribution is also a major driver of AI visibility. Sephora and Ulta Beauty act as separate citation surfaces, with Sephora-exclusive brands earning more citation share when the consumer prompt mentions prestige or trend-forward signals, while Ulta Beauty’s brands arise more often when prompts include "drugstore," "affordable," or "dermatologist-recommended.” Brands distributed through both retailers, however, earn a citation premium of approximately 1.2x, as compared to brands in only one.
Legacy beauty brands, like Estée Lauder, Lancôme, La Mer, and Chanel, all ranked noticeably lower than where their commercial scale would predict, especially on ingredient-specific prompts, as the citations were most frequently given to The Ordinary, CeraVe, La Roche-Posay, and Drunk Elephant first. This legacy citation gap has widened every quarter that 5W has measured so far, demonstrating a trend toward consumers prioritizing ingredient-led products over brand prestige. DTC and smaller mass-market brands also tend to perform more poorly, operating without the major distribution channels or strategic marketing infrastructure of larger companies.
“The brands losing share are the brands that built around heritage marketing and celebrity face campaigns,” Torossian said. A brand reputation or long-lasting legacy seems to have less impact on buyers, as AI citations are tending to prioritize direct concerns of consumers by naming ingredient-specific products. “The window stays open for the brands that adapt,” Torossian continued, “It closes for the brands that don't."
The increasing use and accessibility of AI is reshaping the beauty industry, with the potential to redefine the means of brand success. Traditional measures like brand prestige and commercial scale are becoming less powerful as stand-alone features, while ingredient transparency and cultural relevance are steadily shaping consumer purchasing behavior. Consumers are heavily relying on AI for product recommendations, making brand visibility in AI-generated prompts more powerful than ever.
If the 2026 buyer is really opening ChatGPT before walking into Sephora, then the beauty industry has entered a new phase of discovery and growth. It is no longer solely about customers knowing a brand’s name, but whether or not AI deems it worthy of recommendation.