Avenue Z’s latest AIVx Beauty Report looks at how beauty brands are showing up in AI search and what is actually driving that visibility. The report analyzes AI visibility, rank, and citation trends across 60 brands and 565 AI citations derived from ChatGPT responses.
A small cluster of brands is separating from the field. La Roche-Posay ranks first with a Z-Score of 86.8, appearing in 16.0% of all prompts analyzed and commanding 6.0% share of voice. CeraVe follows with a Z-Score of 81.2, also appearing in 16.0% of prompts with a 5.0% share of voice, while Olaplex ranks third with a Z-Score of 71.7 and 5.0% share of voice. Redken and Moroccan Oil round out the top five. Together, the top five brands are recommended in 24% of total tracked brand mentions in AI responses.
The report’s defining finding is that 63% of citations come from editorial sources, reinforcing that third-party authority is the clearest driver of AI search visibility in beauty. Top citation sources include Allure with 479 citations, Vogue with 330, and Glamour with 225.
“Beauty brands need to understand that AI visibility is not a content volume game. It is a credibility game,” says Whitney Hart, Chief Strategy Officer at Avenue Z. “In this category, AI visibility is being built through authority that exists beyond a brand’s own channels. The leaders are gaining ground because trusted third parties are consistently shaping how AI understands and recommends them.”
Reddit remains the dominant user-generated content signal in the category for ChatGPT, accounting for 153 citations, reinforcing that community-driven reputation plays an increasingly meaningful role in how AI models evaluate brand authority.
Why This Matters Now
With ChatGPT surpassing 900 million weekly active users and 73% of consumers using AI for product research, AI visibility is an active competitive battleground, shaping category discovery before consumers ever reach a brand site.
You can read the full report here: 2026 AI Visibility Index (AIVx) Beauty Report
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