This Is How AI Will Impact Beauty and Wellness Industry

AI is on everyone’s lips l after ChatGPT facilitated the use of AI in different tasks of our daily jobs (translations, idea generation, source of knowledge, among others). If you have not heard about ChatGPT you need to stop reading this article and google it (NOW!). If you have heard about it but have not tried it out, at the end of this article, I have left a few questions/actions  to get you started with ChatGPT. If you have already used ChatGPT and you are concerned about how AI will impact the future of your work, I suggest you read this paper: GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look to the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models, 2023. It basically states that around 80% of the US workforce will have at least 10% of their work tasks affected by the introduction of LLMs (Large Language Models), while 19% of workers may see at least 50% of their tasks impacted. So yes, our work and jobs will be impacted by AI sooner than later. 

Some tasks and industries will be affected more than others. Industries in online and digital environments will see a bigger impact, while industries and jobs that require non-repetitive offline tasks will see a limited impact. But before we go deeper into the effects of AI on the workplace and, specifically, in the beauty and wellness services industry, let's get back to basics. What is AI and why all this fuss about it?

What is AI?

AI stands for "artificial intelligence," which refers to the development of computer systems that can perform tasks that would typically require human intelligence, such as perception, reasoning, learning, decision-making, and language processing. AI is a broad field that encompasses a range of techniques and approaches, including machine learning, natural language processing, computer vision, and robotics.

Machine learning, one of the most widely used techniques in AI, involves training computer algorithms to learn from data, recognize patterns, and make predictions or decisions based on that data. Natural language processing involves teaching computers to understand and respond to human language (like  Siri), while computer vision involves teaching computers to interpret and analyze visual data, such as images and videos (like autonomous cars, such as Tesla, Waymo, Cruise).

How is AI Impacting the Future of Work?

AI has numerous applications across a range of industries. With the advancement of technology and the availability of vast amounts of data, AI is increasingly being used to automate and optimize tasks, improve decision-making, and enhance the customer experience. 

AI is well-suited to automate routine and repetitive tasks, such as data entry, scheduling, and basic customer service. This can lead to greater efficiency and productivity in the workplace, but may also lead to job displacement for workers whose jobs can be fully automated. AI can be used to analyze large amounts of data and provide insights that can inform decision-making and improve customer service in offline jobs. For example, AI algorithms can be used to analyze Glitzi customer service history, preferences, and reviews, offering personalized recommendations of professionals and services that best suit their needs.

While AI has the potential to impact a wide range of jobs, jobs that require high-level creativity, social skills, physical dexterity, critical thinking, and empathy are less likely to be fully automated or significantly impacted by AI. For example artists, writers, designers, therapists, social workers, healthcare professionals, teachers, nurses, caregivers, construction workers and beauty and wellness service providers are among the professions that are not going to be automated by AI. 

The Impact of AI in the Beauty and Wellness Industry?

AI has the potential to greatly impact the beauty and wellness services industry in a number of ways. However, the main service jobs in the beauty and wellness industry, such as manicurists, massage therapists, hairstylists or makeup artists, will never be replaced. This is because there are certain aspects of these jobs that AI is unlikely to replace, such as human touch, creativity, empathy and trust. 

Human Touch: 

The beauty and wellness services industry is known for its personal touch, and while AI can enhance the experience, it cannot replicate the human touch that many customers seek.

Creativity: 

While AI can provide recommendations and suggestions, it cannot replicate the creativity and intuition of a skilled makeup artist or hairstylist.

Empathy: 

Beauty and wellness services often involve intimate interactions between customers and service providers, and while AI can provide information and guidance, it cannot replicate the empathy and emotional intelligence of a human being.

Trust: 

Customers often trust their beauty and wellness service providers to provide them with advice and recommendations that are tailored to their unique needs and preferences. While AI can provide personalized recommendations, it may never be able to replicate the trust that customers place in their human service providers.

The Social Aspect 

Beauty and wellness services often provide a social experience, allowing customers to connect with others and build relationships with their service providers. While AI can enhance the experience, it may never be able to fully replicate the social aspect of these services.

For those reasons, the jobs of beauticians and wellness therapists will never be replaced regardless of the evolution of AI. This does not mean that there would be no impact on this industry as AI can help enhance the experience of customers buying beauty and wellness services. Some of the use cases that we are already seeing are personalized recommendations, virtual try-on, automated scheduling and enhanced customer service. 

How Can AI Enhance the Glitzi Experience?

As you can tell, AI is a topic that we have been discussing internally at Glitzi. Knowing that AI will be a tool for Glitzi rather than a replacement for our value proposition, we have been exploring how AI can improve customers and professionals' experience inside the Glitzi platform. We have found 14 real applications of AI to improve the Glitzi product, and we are extremely bullish about these three:

Personalization: 

Use AI algorithms to analyze users' service history, preferences, and reviews, offering personalized recommendations of professionals and services that best suit their needs.

Reviews and feedback analysis: 

Use AI to analyze user reviews and feedback, identify trends and areas for improvement, and provide valuable insights to enhance service quality. This can be extended to professional training and development by applying machine learning techniques to identify areas for improvement in professionals' skills and provide personalized training and suggestions to enhance their performance.

Integration with beauty and wellness devices and apps: 

Connect the Glitzi platform with smart beauty and wellness devices, such as smart mirrors or wearables, to provide a more comprehensive and innovative experience for users. Connect Glitzi with popular health and wellness apps to provide a more comprehensive view of clients' health status and needs, enabling more suitable and effective services and treatments to be offered.

As with any industrial and tech revolution, AI will transform not only how we work but how we live. It is pointless to try to avoid it or ignore it, it will affect you and your business. The question you need to ask yourself is how, so you can be prepared to look for new opportunities for your workforce or to enhance your product/service. At Glitzi, we are already opening the discussion of how we can use AI as a tool so we can provide the best experience for customers and professionals providing at-home beauty, spa and personal care services. We are excited to see how AI can help us create a more personalized experience for all Glitzi users.

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How to break the ice with Chat GPT? 

1. Ask Chat GPT how it works.

2. Translate a text in Chat GPT.

3. Brianstorm with Chat GPT, ask it to provide you ideas for … (anything).