The mainstream success of generative AI has caused a rapid acceleration of the perpetuation of unattainable beauty standards. Dove has announced the launch of a new Chrome extention, showing how brands can use generative AI to make the internet a safer space.
With contoured, photoshopped, filtered and curated influencer auccounts setting unattainable beauty standards, women are now comparing themselves to AI-generated "perfection," says the brand.
"AI is shaping our world — and with it, our perceptions of beauty. As generative AI tools rapidly enter mainstream use, they carry with them a significant problem: their outputs reflect the biases inherent in the data on which they're trained. Ask an AI to generate a 'beautiful woman,' and the result is often a filtered, Western-centric ideal. For women across the Global South — especially in Africa — that means being invisible in the digital age,” says Dominique Baxewanos, Creative Director at VML South Africa.
Dove South Africa, in partnership with its creative agency VML, has created a tool to combat this, adds the brand.
World-First Chrome Extension Combats AI Bias
Starting with the Real Beauty Generation microsite, Dove and VML South Africa aim to develop a platform that uses Adobe Firefly's beta API. On the platform, users could generate images of women using prompts that included features like acne scarring, laugh lines and deep-set wrinkles — then rate them. "This wasn't just cosmetic," says Baxewanos. "It showed people how language matters when interacting with AI and helped to humanise an otherwise abstract issue."
Dove and VML emphasise this message with a full campaign across radio, social media, influencers and more. "We also collaborated with self-esteem educator and expert Zuraida Jardine-Lindberg to ensure that tone, language and accessibility were fully inclusive."
They are taking it a step further by developing a plugin for Chrome that allows users to generate inclusive images of women using any image generation platform. It's accessible for all levels of computer literacy, adds the brand.
How it Works
An issue with AI image generation is that the picture is only as good as the prompt. Many users struggle to convert the image they have in their minds into words specific enough to prompt an AI effectively. Dove's new Real Beauty Chrome extension aims to take change that, says the brand.
"We used the data we gathered from the microsite interactions to develop a free, open tool that anyone can use to generate inclusive imagery," says Theo Ferreira, Executive Creative Director at VML South Africa. "In essence, it works as a translator — translating complex AI prompts into an intuitive, user-friendly experience that integrates seamlessly into your preferred generative AI platform (e.g. ChatGPT, Firefly, DeepSeek, etc.) through your Chrome browser."
The Craft Behind the Extension
Craft plays a key role in developing this tool. The team translates descriptive language into technically robust prompts that guide AI systems to produce more representative results — while keeping the user experience simple and accessible. You don’t need to be a tech-savvy to produce inclusive images. The team consult with body positivity and language experts to ensure that the descriptions in the drop-down menus promote confidence and accuracy, says the brand.
Championing Real Beauty
"Dove has spent 20 years championing real beauty," says Anele Nzimande-Maphanga, PR and Influencer Lead at Unilever South Africa. "Over those two decades, we've rallied against harmful stereotypes, celebrated different body shapes and sizes and even challenged the harmful self-talk that often gets internalised from an early age. We'd hoped that by now the world would have become more inclusive. Unfortunately, with the rise of generative AI, harmful stereotypes are becoming more prevalent than ever. This tool empowers users to re-write the narrative around what real beauty looks like."
For VML, the tool is a combination of technology, creativity and simple humanity. "This isn't about pushing the boundaries of AI realism; it's about promoting self-worth," says Fran Luckin, Chief Creative Officer at VML. "We want people to use this tool to reflect the beauty they see in themselves, their friends and the women around them. We want them to see that real beauty isn’t about being flawless — it's those perceived 'flaws' that make us beautiful. And when women see personal characteristics that are so often labelled as 'imperfections' reflected in GenAI images of beauty, we want them to feel beautiful.”
For more information, visit www.dove.com/za. You can also follow Dove South Africa on Facebook, X, Instagram, or on TikTok.
*Image courtesy of contributor