CJ Olive Young is building in-store services aimed at foreign customers. CJ Olive Young said on Tuesday it will introduce AI-based in-store services, including an AI shopping assistant and an AI interpretation service. It is a step to improve shopping convenience for foreign customers in line with rising global demand for K-beauty. The services will be introduced sequentially, starting with stores that have a high share of foreign visitors.

Olive Young is first operating an "AI shopping assistant" mainly at multi-level stores with a high share of foreign customers. It is a service that allows self-service shopping by talking with an AI avatar at a kiosk, without staff assistance. In eight languages, a single device provides product descriptions, stock checks and in-store location guidance, as well as product recommendations tailored to individual skin characteristics. It is designed to let customers browse products without language barriers.

The AI shopping assistant also helps improve store operating efficiency beyond the customer experience. Frequently asked information, such as payment methods or value-added tax refunds, can be checked on a touchscreen, allowing staff to focus more on specialised consultations. It also provides a data-based dashboard that shows customers' dwell time and major questions. Olive Young said it has become possible to operate stores in a way that reflects customer demand based on the analysis results.

While the AI shopping assistant supports self-service shopping, one-on-one consultations are helped by an "AI interpretation service". The service adds AI technology to a portable translator introduced in 2024, and is being introduced sequentially starting with stores that have a high share of foreign customers. Supported languages have also been expanded to 38, allowing customers of more nationalities to use it. Customers can scan a QR code shown by staff to join real-time chat, or talk using a tablet microphone installed in the store.

The service learns data specialised for the K-beauty shopping environment to accurately convey related technical terms. When customers describe skin concerns in their native language, staff can provide detailed guidance on ingredients and how to use products. Olive Young has steadily expanded shopping convenience for foreign customers through foreign-language guidance, an instant refund service and portable translators. With the addition of the new AI services, language barriers across the entire shopping process are expected to be lowered further, the company said.

An Olive Young official said, "As the number of foreign visitors to Korea rises along with the popularity of K-beauty, we will continue to enhance AI-based in-store services to improve shopping convenience for global customers and expand them to stores nationwide." The official said, "We will continue to establish ourselves as a global K-beauty hub where customers around the world can experience K-beauty up close through a shopping environment without language barriers."