Ulta Collaborates With Madison Reed On Chatbot

Ulta Beauty has teamed up with Madison Reed, a prestige hair color brand, to give customers access to high-tech innovations. Recently, Madison Reed's team of software engineers created “Madi,” the first-ever, color-recognition chatbot that gives consultations just as a human colorist would do in a salon.

Madi is a key component of the Ulta Beauty in-store experience: To assist customers as they shop and ponder – “Which color should I choose?” – guests can text “Hello” to 34757, and Madi will prompt them to upload a selfie focused on the face and hair. Then Madi will ask a few quick questions and recommend the perfect hair color.

“For traditional hair color companies, technology is an add-on at the very end. For us, it’s a starting place for everything around an enhanced customer experience,” said Amy Errett, CEO and co-founder of Madison Reed. “We are proud to partner with Ulta Beauty to give customers access to our prestige hair color products and introduce them to Madi, which is convenient, seamless and fun.”

Madison Reed products are available in both Ulta stores and on the retailer's e-commerce site.