Our analysis of estimated chatbot-platform web traffic reveals a distinct route into beauty retail websites. We compared average monthly visits associated with AI assistants across five retailers from January through June 2026 to see who captures that traffic. The ranking points to a different competitive order from overall website traffic—and raises a practical question about what happens after a visitor from a chatbot platform lands.
In this RB Insight on beauty retailer AI-search traffic, we ranked the five retailers using estimated web-traffic figures, not RETAILBOSS first-party audience data. Ulta Beauty led with an average of 209,200 monthly chatbot-platform visits. Sephora followed at 182,700, Boots at 148,100, FragranceNet at 56,300 and Bath & Body Works at 28,900. Ulta’s lead over Sephora was 26,500 estimated visits a month within this group.
The first distinction: traffic is not a recommendation
Our ranking analyzes estimated web traffic associated with chatbot platforms for a defined group of retailers. It does not show which shopper questions led to those visits, how often an AI answer mentioned each retailer, what visitors viewed after arrival or whether they bought anything. It also does not establish that a particular campaign or product launch caused the difference.
That distinction matters because AI discovery has several stages. A brand can be named in an answer. A retailer can receive the click. A product page can make the choice easier. The sale can then happen online or in a store. Each stage needs a different measure.
Our separate Top Beauty Brands Recommended by AI report looks at estimated citation share across more than 80 consumer prompts in the first quarter of 2026. That is a measure of answer visibility, not the chatbot traffic shown in the retailer graphic. Our earlier coverage of AI beauty citations explores that part of the journey.
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