From TIME · · 1m
Ekta Chopra's grassroots AI strategy at E.l.f. Beauty
E.l.f. Beauty's new tech chief is letting employees decide where AI agents fit best, not imposing solutions from above.
In brief
E.l.f. Beauty's new tech chief is letting employees decide where AI agents fit best, not imposing solutions from above. The most effective AI deployment comes from the people doing the work, not from top-down mandates. Originally reported by TIME.
Speed defines beauty now
In the beauty industry, trends go viral on TikTok instantly. Companies that can't capitalize within hours lose momentum entirely.
“Culture moves at the speed of light. Things go viral on TikTok, and if you don't capitalize on that very quickly, you lose out.”
Meet Ekta Chopra
Ekta Chopra became chief technology and AI officer at E.l.f. Beauty in April 2025, after spending 10 years at the company in other roles.
Her strategy: grassroots AI
Rather than imposing AI solutions from the top, Chopra lets employees identify where agentic AI can help them work faster and better.
“It's the people closest to the work who should figure out: What is the work agents can do versus the work humans should do?”
Redesigning jobs around innovation
The goal isn't replacing humans but freeing them from administrative work so they can focus on creative and strategic tasks.
“The human is still in the loop. All we're doing is building infrastructure that helps them react more quickly to opportunities.”
Building secure AI infrastructure
Chopra and her team create the operating models and security frameworks needed for agentic AI to run smoothly across E.l.f.'s enterprise systems.
What matters most
The most effective AI deployment comes from the people doing the work, not from top-down mandates.
