How Top Beauty and Wellness Brands Are Training Employees to Use AI Tools

How Top Beauty and Wellness Brands Are Training Employees to Use AI Tools

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept reserved for tech giants — it has become a central pillar of day-to-day operations across the beauty and wellness industry. At Glossy's annual E-Commerce Summit, brand leaders from some of the most recognized names in beauty and wellness — including Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Tarte, Supergoop!, SharkNinja, and Beekman 1802 — gathered to share the strategies, tactics, and lessons learned from integrating AI tools into their workflows. The consensus was clear: brands that invest in proper AI training for their employees are pulling ahead of those that don't.

Why AI Training Is Now a Business Priority

The beauty and wellness sector is fiercely competitive. Consumer expectations are higher than ever, product launch cycles are accelerating, and the volume of data brands must process — from customer feedback to social listening to supply chain analytics — has grown exponentially. AI tools offer a practical solution to these challenges, but only when teams know how to use them effectively.

According to insights shared at the summit, the biggest barrier to AI adoption is not cost or access — it is a skills gap at the employee level. Many workers either lack confidence using AI tools or have not been shown how to apply them to their specific roles. This is why leading brands are moving from passive AI adoption to structured, intentional training programs designed to meet employees where they are.

Winning Tactics Shared by Brand Leaders

1. Start With Use Cases, Not Technology

Brand leaders at the summit consistently emphasized the importance of grounding AI training in real, practical use cases rather than abstract technology demonstrations. When employees understand how a tool solves a specific problem they face every day — whether that is drafting product descriptions, analyzing customer reviews, or forecasting inventory — adoption rates increase dramatically. Ulta Beauty, for example, has focused on showing merchandising and marketing teams how AI can speed up repetitive tasks so they can spend more time on creative and strategic work.

2. Create a Culture of Curiosity and Experimentation

Sephora and Tarte have both reportedly fostered internal cultures where employees are encouraged to experiment with AI tools without fear of failure. This means setting up sandbox environments, running lunch-and-learn sessions, and celebrating small wins publicly. When experimentation is normalized, teams develop confidence faster and surface creative applications that leadership may not have anticipated.

3. Designate Internal AI Champions

Several brands have found success by identifying enthusiastic early adopters within each department and empowering them as internal AI champions. These individuals receive advanced training and act as go-to resources for their colleagues. This peer-to-peer learning model reduces the intimidation factor often associated with new technology and builds cross-departmental momentum organically.

4. Align AI Tools With Brand Identity

Beekman 1802 and Supergoop! have highlighted the importance of ensuring that AI-generated content and insights remain true to the brand's voice and values. Training employees to prompt AI tools effectively — providing the right context, tone guidelines, and constraints — is just as important as teaching them which tools to use. AI is a collaborator, not a replacement for brand authenticity.

Beyond Internal Training: The Broader Wellness Industry Is Investing in AI

The momentum around AI in wellness extends well beyond employee training programs. Several major developments signal that the entire industry is preparing for a technology-driven transformation.

Ōura Drops Its Smallest Tracker Ring Yet

Finnish health tech brand Ōura has released its most compact smart ring to date, continuing its mission to make continuous health monitoring as seamless and unobtrusive as possible. The new ring leverages AI to provide users with personalized health insights around sleep, readiness, and activity — further blurring the line between wellness wearables and medical-grade monitoring devices.

Unilever Invests $270 Million in a New Connecticut R&D Hub

Consumer goods giant Unilever has announced a $270 million investment in a new research and development hub in Connecticut. This facility is expected to accelerate the development of next-generation beauty and personal care formulations, with AI playing a central role in ingredient discovery, efficacy testing, and consumer personalization. The investment underscores the belief that AI-assisted R&D will be a key competitive differentiator in the years ahead.

Vladimir Putin Commits $26 Billion to Longevity Research

In a striking signal of how seriously longevity science is now being taken at the geopolitical level, Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly committed $26 billion toward longevity and anti-aging research. While the political dimensions of such an investment are complex, it reflects a global trend: governments and sovereign wealth entities increasingly view longevity science — much of which is powered by AI-driven biological research — as a strategic national interest.

Planet Fitness Continues to Scale

Mass-market gym chain Planet Fitness is scaling its footprint, tapping into growing consumer demand for accessible fitness and wellness solutions. The brand's expansion strategy increasingly relies on data analytics and AI tools to identify high-potential locations, optimize member retention, and personalize digital fitness experiences for its large and diverse membership base.

What Beauty Brands Can Take Away Right Now

The insights from Glossy's E-Commerce Summit point to a set of actionable steps that any beauty or wellness brand — regardless of size — can begin implementing today.

• Audit current AI usage: Identify where AI tools are already in use across your organization and where the biggest opportunities for expansion lie.
• Invest in structured training: Move beyond ad-hoc tool adoption and create a formal onboarding process for AI tools tied to specific job functions.
• Set clear governance guidelines: Establish policies around data privacy, brand voice, and human review of AI outputs to ensure responsible use.
• Measure and iterate: Track the impact of AI tool usage on productivity, content quality, and business outcomes, and use that data to refine your approach over time.
• Stay curious about the ecosystem: The AI tool landscape is evolving rapidly. Brands that build a habit of monitoring new developments will be better positioned to adopt the next wave of innovation.

The Bottom Line

The beauty and wellness industry is at a genuine inflection point. Brands that treat AI as a strategic capability — and invest in the human side of AI adoption through robust employee training — are positioning themselves for sustained competitive advantage. The stories emerging from leaders at Ulta Beauty, Sephora, Tarte, and beyond are not just about technology. They are about building organizations that are agile, curious, and ready for what comes next. In a market where innovation cycles are measured in months rather than years, that readiness may be the most valuable asset a brand can have.