Hair color trailblazer Madison Reed gives customer experience a glow-up with AI.
How “Madi,” built on Sierra, is helping customers feel confident—while driving serious business results.
Reduction in subscription cancellations
50%
Madison Reed disrupted an industry that lacked innovation for decades.
Built on a bold mission to empower its guests to feel their most confident and unstoppable, Madison Reed has always done things differently—including its use of technology. From algorithmic color matching to virtual try-ons, the brand consistently embraces innovation to deliver more confident experiences and more beautiful results.
So when it came to customer experience, the bar was already high.
“I created Madison Reed because I believed women deserved better and that drives our decision-making every day,” says Amy Errett, CEO & Founder of Madison Reed. “As our business grows, we needed a partner that shared our obsession with quality, empathy, and customer connection.”
That’s where Sierra came in.
Scaling a subscription brand with AI that feels personal
As a subscription-driven business with both eCommerce and in-person Hair Color Bar channels, Madison Reed has always prioritized fast, expert support across customer touchpoints. But traditional support tools weren’t designed to drive growth while reflecting the warmth and confidence of the Madison Reed brand.
AI had already played a role in other parts of the business, but customer experience presented a new opportunity: to use AI not just to support customers, but to empower them. The team saw a chance to bring their brand voice to life in every conversation, while delivering the kind of proactive, revenue-driving support a traditional model couldn’t.
Madison Reed deepened its AI offerings by partnering with Sierra to bring that vision to life. The initial objectives included training an AI agent skilled in customer support chat to reduce churn, making product discovery more accessible, and booking appointments with ease across the brand’s 97 Hair Color Bars.
That agent became “Madi,” the brand’s AI agent built on Sierra.
“Madi is the digital extension of our brand,” says Errett. “She’s there to wave, to say ‘Hello Beautiful,’ and to help every customer feel seen. Sierra gave us the technology to bring her to life with intelligence, empathy, and personality.”
Madi shows up wherever customers are—across web, chat, and SMS—delivering 24/7 support and seamless transitions between channels and human experts.
“Sierra had the right platform to build the AI agent experience we needed,” says Errett. “What set them apart wasn’t just the tech—it was how intentionally they worked with us to make sure Madi felt like Madison Reed. That’s the difference between generic automation and brand-building AI.”
“What set Sierra apart wasn’t just the tech—it was how intentionally they worked with us to make sure Madi felt like Madison Reed. That’s the difference between generic automation and brand-building AI.”
Real results across the customer journey
Since launching Madi, Madison Reed has seen dramatic results across customer experience and business performance. All chat-based customer conversations are now fully automated, freeing up the brand’s “Color Crew” support team to focus on high-touch consultations and in-person salon care.
Most importantly, Madi is delivering real impact to the bottom line. With 24/7 chat availability the brand is seeing a 30x increase in chat interaction with a 2x increase in guests’ likelihood to book an appointment, while subscription cancellations are cut in half for customers working with Madi.
“We are already seeing meaningful revenue generation and cost savings resulting from this agent,” says Errett. "Madi is already improving our customer lifetime value, increasing bookings, and reducing our cancellation rate.”
As it has scaled to handle up to 100% of Madison Reed’s online traffic, Madi has quickly become a core part of the customer journey—boosting loyalty, driving revenue, and deepening brand connection.
“Sierra helps us deliver on the promise of personalization at scale,” says Errett. “This isn’t about replacing human connection—it’s about extending it. And it’s helping us grow stronger, faster, and more meaningfully with every conversation.”
A future built on trust and tech
For Madison Reed, AI is a reflection of its values: courage, trust, love, responsibility, and joy. “Great brands don’t just keep up with their customers' needs—they anticipate them,” says Errett. “With Sierra, we’re making our customers feel confident, connected, and cared for.”
