At the 2025 WWD Beauty CEO Summit, Parham Aarabi, CEO and founder of Pre, posed a critical question to beauty industry leaders: how effective are the beauty tech solutions they currently utilize? He encouraged attendees to evaluate their systems—are makeup try-on tools boosting sales? Is skin diagnostic technology driving revenue? Are AI chat interfaces leading to higher conversion rates? This inquiry underscores the vital role that technology plays in modern retail and challenges brands to consider the efficiency and impact of their digital initiatives.
Aarabi’s journey in understanding the effects of beauty tech on brand performance revealed a crucial insight: user experience is the definitive factor in determining success. He emphasized that the entirety of the user journey—spanning from discovery and engagement options to post-purchase interactions—holds far greater significance than any individual technology. “User experience matters more than anything else,” he stated, highlighting the necessity of a thoughtful and integrated approach to optimizing customer interactions.
However, Aarabi noted that many brands often rely on intuition rather than data-driven insights when it comes to designing user experiences. “When you guess, sometimes you get it right, but other times it leads to lost revenue,” he cautioned. To this end, he founded Pre, focusing on creating AI-driven user experience optimization specifically tailored for beauty brands. The technology is designed to uncover valuable insights about customers, identifying which products resonate most, where users experience frustration, and which messages are most effective.
To support brands in achieving these insights, Pre’s AI models facilitate rapid testing and feedback. These models have been in development for two years, showcasing their potential to revolutionize how brands interact with their audiences. Aarabi provided an intriguing example: virtual try-on features demonstrated high engagement levels, while AI chat interfaces were met with skepticism. This intelligence equips brands with the capability to explore numerous ideas rapidly—testing upwards of 1,000 concepts in just over a day, a task that previously might have required a year.
Imagining the efficiency of this system, Aarabi remarked, “How much more effective would things be if you could condense a year’s worth of optimization into just over a day?” This acceleration applies equally to email campaigns and e-commerce marketing efforts, allowing brands to adapt quickly to user preferences and market trends. One partnership highlighted the monumental cost-effectiveness of these AI tests, reporting that they are 1,000 times faster and cheaper while yielding results comparable to traditional human testing.
Going beyond basic analytics, Pre’s technology can tailor models for specific customer segments, enabling brands to hone in on precise demographics or even narrower audiences, such as those engaged on TikTok. A practical application with MZ Skin illustrates this capability: Pre developed an AI model that adapts in real-time, guiding users through their purchasing journey by providing tailored product recommendations, promotions, or interactive questions when the AI becomes confident in its assessment.
Ultimately, Aarabi’s vision is clear: this level of personalized user experience will revolutionize beauty e-commerce sales more dramatically than any other technology. “We’re really excited to bring this to market soon,” he shared, underscoring the potential for AI-driven insights to create significant impacts on brand success and consumer satisfaction. Through these innovations, the beauty industry stands on the brink of transformation, armed with the ability to genuinely understand and cater to their clients’ needs.