In IFOP’s Beauty Perspectives 2026, AI-assisted skin diagnosis remained the beauty tech with the most potential according to beauty executives at 56%, despite a 7-point fall versus last year. Algorithmic personalisation is second at 43%, up from 33% last year. Facial recognition is third at 39%, up from 25% and fifth place in 2025. Connected objects, which ranked second last year at 36%, are now at 31%. Generative AI is unchanged at 31%, while augmented reality fell from 24% to 20%.
AI-assisted skin diagnosis is increasingly becoming adopted in routine and product selection. L’Oréal’s La Roche-Posay uses SPOTSCAN+ to analyse acne from selfies and recommend a personalised routine. The tool is available free in more than 41 countries. Retailers are also launching similar tools like Ulta Beauty’s GLAMlab Skin Advisor.
Algorithmic personalisation is also moving further down the funnel. Shiseido’s Optune combines skin, environment and sleep data to select from 80,000 skincare patterns while Ulta Beauty uses data from its Ultamate Rewards programme to power product recommendations.
Facial recognition is now third, but its clearest consumer application overlaps with augmented reality: mapping features to reduce the risk of buying the wrong shade or look. L’Oréal’s ModiFace virtual try-on has been deployed across NYX Professional Makeup, Urban Decay, Maybelline New York and Lancôme. Retailers such as Ulta Beauty use computer vision in GLAMlab so makeup moves with the user’s face and expressions. The value is not in recognition itself, but recognition that makes other applications like digital try-on usable.
Beauty tech is increasingly focusing on building services that turns consumer data into a more confident choice, then connects that choice to a product, a routine or a replenishment.
