On this episode of the Winning With Shopify Podcast, host Nick welcomes back one of his most popular guests – Janice Thomas, Managing Director at Look Fabulous Forever, the direct-to-consumer beauty brand creating makeup and skincare specifically for post-menopausal women.
Janice has been on the show several times, and this time she and Nick dive deep into how AI fits into the daily workings of her brand, where it works brilliantly, where it doesn’t, and why brand values are more important than ever in an AI-driven marketing world.
Setting the culture for AI experimentation
Long before ChatGPT became a household name, Janice realised AI would be a fundamental shift for both the beauty industry and her team. She asked everyone at Look Fabulous Forever to explore AI tools – from within their existing marketing platforms to standalone software – and then bring back what they’d learned.
That culture of experimentation means the team tests AI across different areas, keeps what works, and discards what doesn’t.
“As MD, it’s my job to set the expectation that you will experiment with AI,” Janice explains. “It won’t always work, but it’s the way forward.”
Where AI delivers quick wins
The first big win came with imagery. By turning flat product shots into seasonal lifestyle images, the brand could react instantly to changes in weather or events. A lipstick could be on a sunny beach in the morning, or surrounded by spring flowers by the afternoon – without costly photoshoots.
But there are limits. AI is never used to create images of women or their skin.
“An accurate representation of our customer is the heart of who we are. That’s not something AI should replace,” says Janice.
Guarding your brand in the age of AI search
AI tools don’t just scrape websites – they also learn from social posts, reviews, and online conversations. This means every piece of content you publish contributes to how AI understands your brand.
Janice warns against chasing viral trends that don’t align with your identity.
“If you’re sharing memes that have nothing to do with your products, you’re teaching AI the wrong things about your brand.”
Being clear about who you are, what you sell, and who you sell to will make it more likely your brand becomes the authoritative AI-generated answer to a customer’s query.
Using AI for text – but with human refinement
Look Fabulous Forever uses AI for:
-Subject line ideas for email campaigns
-Starter outlines for articles and guides
-Brainstorming angles for campaigns
Because the brand serves such a niche audience, generic AI-written beauty content often misses the mark. The team takes AI’s rough drafts and tailors them for their demographic, ensuring the final result feels personal and on-brand.
Customer feedback – the old-fashioned way
While AI is powerful, Janice stresses that you won’t get good survey responses unless you’ve built a strong customer relationship.
The brand sends quarterly surveys with a 10% response rate, thanks to years of trust-building and always feeding back results (“You asked for X – here’s what we did”).
Without that investment, customers simply won’t care enough to reply.
Chatbots and customer service
For out-of-hours queries, Look Fabulous Forever uses AI-powered chatbots for quick questions, but keeps human advisers for personalised product recommendations.
Their customer service team is made up of women in their 60s and 70s – the same demographic as their customers – which makes one-to-one conversations more relevant and valuable.
SEO and AI – getting found by the right people
Search is a big focus for the brand. They’re ensuring Google Shopping listings and product descriptions clearly state their niche, for example:
“Mascara for older women” rather than just “Mascara”.
This helps them appear for highly relevant searches, rather than competing for generic, high-cost keywords that bring the wrong audience.
They’re also making sure social media messaging matches website copy so AI tools and search engines receive consistent signals about who they serve.
The next AI opportunity
For Janice, the biggest opportunity is creative variation at scale. With tools like Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping and Google PMAX, being able to quickly produce multiple tailored creatives for different use cases is becoming increasingly valuable.
Key takeaways from Janice’s AI strategy
1. Experiment with purpose – Try new AI tools but decide early what fits your brand and what doesn’t.
2. Guard your identity – Every piece of content shapes how AI (and customers) see you.
3. Refine AI output – Use it as a starting point, not the finished product.
4. Invest in relationships – Customers respond to surveys when they know you listen.
5. Optimise for relevance, not reach – Target specific, high-intent searches.
Check out the full podcast here.
This episode was brought to you by Nick Trueman, Director of PPC & SEO Agency, Spec Digital