Maybelline virtual try-on brings AI shopping into ChatGPT, raising both convenience and ad-risk questions.
L’Oréal said Maybelline virtual try-on will come directly to ChatGPT through a new OpenAI partnership announced at VivaTech 2026 on June 17. The company said it will use L’Oréal’s ModiFace technology so users can test makeup looks through an AI conversation, according to L’Oréal Finance.
The Maybelline virtual try-on move puts beauty shopping inside ChatGPT instead of a normal brand website or retailer app. Artificial Intelligence News reported that the OpenAI partnership covers virtual try-on, product discovery, advertising pilots, research work and internal creative tools.
It is built on ModiFace, the beauty tech company L’Oréal acquired in March 2018. L’Oréal said ModiFace had developed 3D virtual makeup, color and skin diagnosis tools and employed nearly 70 engineers, researchers and scientists, according to L’Oréal’s acquisition announcement.
The commercial reason for Maybelline virtual try-on is clear. L’Oréal said ChatGPT has more than 900 million weekly users, giving Maybelline a much larger place to reach shoppers at the moment they ask for beauty advice. L’Oréal also said it will work with OpenAI to strengthen product discovery in the U.S. for brands including Lancôme and Kérastase, according to L’Oréal Finance.
The positive case for Maybelline virtual try-on is convenience. A shopper can ask ChatGPT for a makeup look, compare shades, and test Maybelline products without leaving the chat. For online beauty sales, this may reduce some guesswork around shade matching and product selection. The AI Decode has also covered how ChatGPT’s consumer reach is becoming more important for subscriptions and commerce.
The risk is that Maybelline virtual try-on sits close to OpenAI’s wider ad strategy. L’Oréal said SkinCeuticals, CeraVe and Garnier are part of a global ChatGPT ad pilot. OpenAI said its ads test began for logged-in adult users on Free and Go plans, while Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Education tiers would not have ads, according to OpenAI.
OpenAI said ads do not influence ChatGPT answers and that advertisers do not receive access to chats, chat history, memories or personal details. Still, Maybelline virtual try-on raises a practical question for users: when does a beauty recommendation become a sponsored shopping path? OpenAI said ads are labeled and visually separate from answers in its ChatGPT ads policy update.
L’Oréal is also using the OpenAI partnership beyond Maybelline virtual try-on. The company said GPT-Rosalind, OpenAI’s life sciences reasoning model, is being used to study the skin microbiome for La Roche-Posay, while OpenAI’s latest model will support CreAItech, L’Oréal’s internal generative AI content platform, according to L’Oréal Finance.
For L’Oréal, Maybelline virtual try-on is a test of whether AI commerce can make beauty shopping easier without making recommendations feel less neutral. For OpenAI, Maybelline virtual try-on is another test of whether ChatGPT can support shopping and ads while keeping user trust. The next issue to watch is how clearly ChatGPT separates advice, product placement and brand-led beauty experiences. The AI Decode will keep tracking that shift.
