Jodi Cerretani, vp of marketing, Gladly
Customer experience leaders are under mounting pressure — costs are climbing, loyalty is slipping and churn is accelerating after years of impersonal, disconnected service.
In response, many beauty and fashion brands have turned to AI. But in the rush to cut costs and speed up results, most are simply layering AI onto legacy systems without rethinking the broader strategy. As a result, the gap between what customers expect and what these brands can deliver is growing.
How quick wins impact brand loyalty and customer connections
AI should enhance customer experience by making it faster, more consistent and more intelligent. In practice, however, it often does the opposite because the technology is layered onto systems that were never built to support it.
Most platforms were designed around customer support tickets, not people. They treat service as a series of disconnected transactions rather than an ongoing relationship. When AI is added to that kind of foundation, it inherits the same limitations and often amplifies them.
These systems use automation to deflect rather than support, measuring success in cost savings rather than customer outcomes. They’re built to contain problems, not resolve them in ways that build trust.
That mindset might check the box on short-term metrics, but over time it erodes loyalty, brand connection and long-term growth.
According to Gartner, 88% of customers have major concerns about AI in customer service, and 64% say they’d prefer companies not use it at all. That’s not resistance to innovation; it’s a response to poor implementation. Customers notice when beauty and fashion brands deploy AI without trust or continuity.
Integrated AI approaches support beauty and fashion brands’ CX goals
Many CX platforms feature highly visible AI tools like chatbots, auto-fill tools and knowledge-surfacing features. These tools, however, are usually layered onto ticket-based systems that weren’t designed to support meaningful continuity. That’s why shoppers still have to repeat themselves, context gets lost between channels, and AI still feels robotic instead of human.
It’s not that AI isn’t ready. It’s that most platforms aren’t.
AI has the potential to elevate customer experience by supporting the entire journey with context embedded at every step. To do this effectively, three core functions must work in unison: natural, multi-turn conversations that reflect the brand’s voice across channels; meaningful real-time actions that resolve issues and uncover opportunities; and a unified view of each customer’s relationship with the brand.
This turns every interaction into part of a single, ongoing conversation — creating a service experience that’s more informed, more personal, and more effective.
This more integrated approach to AI doesn’t just serve customers — it supports the people helping them. By giving frontline teams a complete view of who the customer is and what they’ve experienced, agents can move beyond reactive support and focus on building long-term relationships. With the right tools and context, support agents can turn every interaction into an opportunity to create value, rather than just solve a problem.
The business impact is clear. McKinsey research shows that customer-centric companies achieve twice the revenue growth of their competitors. This isn’t just about agent satisfaction — it’s about creating a virtuous cycle where empowered agents drive stronger business outcomes.
With customer-centered AI, brands elevate CX and fuel growth
The longstanding trade-off between efficiency and experience is no longer necessary. With AI rooted in customer context, beauty and fashion brands can scale service operations without undermining the customer experience.
Personalized conversations lead to better outcomes. Equipped with the right tools and visibility, agents can act faster and more effectively. And when platforms are built around people rather than processes, AI becomes a true growth engine.
This shift goes beyond short-term fixes. It reflects a broader rethinking of how customer service is delivered. PwC reports that 73% of consumers consider experience a key factor in purchasing decisions, while Forrester data shows that companies with mature customer experience strategies consistently outperform competitors in revenue growth and stock performance.
Customer experience isn’t dead. But the old way of doing it is. The next era is already taking shape — and some brands are already leading the way.
Sponsored by Gladly
