The news: Ulta is offering special discounts to customers who use its ChatGPT plugin, making it one of the few retailers to incentivize shopping on third-party AI platforms.

The details: Shoppers who use the Ulta Beauty plugin on ChatGPT can receive a 10% “AI bundle discount” on eligible full-price products recommended within specific conversations. ChatGPT will suggest a personalized suite of products based on users’ preferences, beauty goals, questions, and other criteria such as budget. Customers can then transfer their chosen items to carts on Ulta’s website or app, where they will then go through the standard checkout experience. To receive the discount, shoppers must purchase between two and five recommended products.

Implications for retail: Ulta’s decision to reward customers for shopping through ChatGPT is unusual, since most retailers would prefer to keep purchases within their ecosystems to maintain control over the experience and customer data. While companies including Walmart, Target, and Ulta competitor Sephora have made their assortments shoppable via ChatGPT and other AI platforms, their goal has mainly been to be available wherever shoppers might choose to research or transact rather than actively promote AI commerce on third-party channels.

But even the prospect of a discount on a favorite beauty product may not be enough to get consumers to embrace AI commerce. Fifty-one percent of digital shoppers have not used and are not interested in shopping via AI platforms like ChatGPT or Gemini, while another 8.8% don’t know what AI shopping is, according to an August Bizrate Insights and EMARKETER survey. Just 5.6% use it regularly, underscoring that AI channels remain a niche avenue for driving sales.