Google’s Beauty AR Revolution: Try Before You Buy, Anytime, Anywhere

Google is rolling out a set of new augmented reality tools tailored for beauty consumers and brands. These features include expanded virtual product try-on capabilities and augmented reality (AR) ads, all while extending the functionality to the mobile web. This is part of Google’s broader initiative to make AR features widely accessible within mobile search.

Starting today, Google is enabling users to virtually experiment with various hair colors and foundation shades, not only on model images but also on their own photos. This feature is available within the Google app and on the mobile web. This marks a significant shift, as previously, AR beauty try-on was exclusively accessible via the Google app.

Over the coming weeks, Google plans to expand this functionality to encompass all of Google’s existing AR beauty categories, including eyes and lips. Over 50 brands, including well-known names like Mac, Urban Decay, and Covergirl, are offering AR try-on experiences for beauty products through Google. Additionally, brands such as Revlon, Splat, and L’Oréal’s suite of products are introducing AR try-on for at-home hair coloring.

Google is also introducing AR beauty ads for lip and eye products, with foundation ads to follow. These ads will allow users to view beauty products on various model images.

Google initially introduced AR beauty try-on in its app back in 2020, offering users the ability to experiment with eye and lip products on both models and their own images, as well as trying foundations on provided model photos. Expanding these features to the mobile web is a significant development, making AR beauty accessible to a broader audience. Lilian Rincon, Senior Director of Consumer Shopping at Google, noted that Google has seen growing momentum behind AR shopping from both brands and consumers over the last six months.

Google’s internal data reveals that shoppers engage with beauty products 10% more when AR features are available. This increased engagement often leads to more time spent on a brand’s site and potential actions like researching new products or making purchases. As Google enhances its shopping capabilities, it becomes a more valuable platform for brands, potentially leading to increased advertising spending.

According to the Vogue Business Beauty Index, 65% of beauty consumers are interested in AR product try-on from brands, yet only 33% of brands currently offer this feature. AR try-on is particularly popular among 35- to 44-year-olds, especially in the United States. It provides consumers with the opportunity to try products virtually before making online purchases and offers brands valuable insights into trending products and colors.

While AR try-on has gained popularity, enabling it on the mobile web has been a significant challenge compared to standalone mobile apps. This is due to the computing power required, as mobile browsers rely on the phone’s connection, whereas apps can offer more complex features independently. To address this challenge, Google collaborated with hair dye manufacturers to develop rendering codes for each shade and created a custom machine learning model using 10,000 data points on modern hairstyles. This has been a formidable undertaking, and it’s worth noting that Lilian Rincon, who led this effort, may soon need to dye her hair pink as part of a playful promise she made to the team if they succeeded before the holidays.