We tested 1,500 queries across 5 AI engines, 18 beauty brands, and 2 languages (EN/ES) to discover which brands dominate AI recommendations — and which ones are invisible. Presented at POSSIBLE 2026.
e.l.f. Beauty leads 4 of 5 AI engines. With 1,025 total mentions, this affordable beauty brand has cracked the AI recommendation code. Only Gemini prefers CeraVe, favoring dermatologist-backed skincare.
e.l.f. Beauty's digital-first strategy, viral TikTok presence, and strong brand positioning have translated directly into AI visibility dominance. While legacy brands like Estée Lauder and Dior struggle for mentions, e.l.f.'s accessible, ingredient-transparent approach resonates with how AI engines understand consumer beauty needs.
Each brand's AI Visibility Score (0–100) measures how often it appears across 1,500 queries. The gap between digital-native brands and legacy names tells a clear story about what AI values.
Visibility Score = % of queries where the brand was mentioned by AI engines. Higher is better.
Some beauty brands see dramatically different AI visibility depending on whether users ask in English or Spanish. Affordable/mass-market brands gain in Spanish; prestige/luxury brands lose.
Mass-market brands (Maybelline, Revlon) gain significant visibility in Spanish-language queries, while premium/DTC brands (Charlotte Tilbury, Glossier, ILIA) lose ground. This reflects the stronger LATAM distribution networks of affordable brands and their deeper presence in Spanish-language beauty content.
Each AI engine has a distinct recommendation personality when it comes to beauty. OpenAI is the most generous with mentions (1,156), while Claude is the most selective (812).
The bottom 6 brands combined have fewer mentions than e.l.f. Beauty alone. Clean beauty and indie brands with strong real-world followings struggle in AI recommendations.
Clean beauty darlings like ILIA (378 mentions) and Tower 28 (334) are nearly invisible to AI engines despite their strong DTC following. Even legacy giants like Revlon (412) and Dior Beauty (489) can't crack the top 10.
Before running the study, we set 4 hypotheses about beauty AI visibility. Here's how they held up against 1,500 data points.
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