Amazon’s New AI Image Generator Promise..And The Results

Plus: Synthetic Data, Character AI and Biz Models Reshape

Author

Jo Lambadjieva
October 31, 2023

Hey there! Happy Halloween! This newsletter is only treats and no tricks (sorry, couldn’t resist a bad pun 😅 Enjoy!

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Why are you reading this?

In this newsletter, I summarize the top AI ecommerce and Amazon developments so you can stay up-to-date in just a few minutes. I do the reading so you don't have to. Consider this your weekly AI ecommerce update to save you time while keeping you informed on what matters most.

TL;DR

  1. Character.AI: The New Gen Z Craze

  2. Synthetic Data Will Be The Next Big Thing In Marketing Research

  3. Analysis: How Is AI Going To Disrupt Biz Models, Marketing And More

  4. Amazon’s New AI Image Generator Promise..And The Results

Character.AI: The New Gen Z Craze

Have you heard of Character.AI yet? No? Well read up, because this might be the next AI-based Gen Z (and Gen Alpha) platform of choice. (TikTok might be old news soon).

What is it?

It stands out for its ability to craft customizable AI companions with distinct personalities, providing users with a unique and personalized chat experience. These AI entities can simulate conversations with virtually any character imaginable—from historical figures to fictional characters—allowing users to interact with a diverse range of personas.

What's particularly notable is the enthusiasm of the younger generations for AI engagement, indicating a significant shift in how they seek connection and entertainment online.

And it shows by the numbers: it racked half a million installs within its first six days and reportedly amassing close to 30 million monthly active users globally. Financially, it secured $150 million in Series A funding and is engaging in talks for a valuation potentially exceeding $5 billion, which highlights the potential investors are seeing.

What does this mean for ecommerce sellers?

If you’ve been reading this newsletter long enough you will start seeing the patterns emerging across all major platforms (Meta, TikTok etc) + customer behavior changes. Meta has AI Chatbots , Walmart has an AI Assitant, Amazon will be rolling an AI-powered changes to the search bar… Gen Z and after will want, expect and require an interactive AI shopping/ entertainment experience featuring AI assistants. Brands will do good to deliver.

Synthetic Data Will Be The Next Big Thing In Marketing Research

This is for all of my data people out there. Introducing…Synthetic Data

What is it?

Synthetic data is artificially generated information that mimics real data, used in various fields to train machine learning models or test systems when actual data is unavailable or limited. It's created using algorithms.

Why does it matter?

  • Quick Brand Check-Up: Synthetic data acts like a fast-forward button, quickly showing where brands stand in the market without waiting for customer surveys.

  • Save Time and Money: Say goodbye to expensive and time-consuming studies. Artificial data does the heavy lifting at a fraction of the cost.

  • Mixing It Up: It blends the "why" with the "how much," giving insights on customer thoughts and their measurable actions, all without asking a single customer question.

  • Smart Marketing Decisions on Auto: Imagine a marketing GPS that plans your route automatically. That's AI using synthetic data to craft marketing strategies without human guesswork.

  • Helping the Underdogs: Small businesses and B2B companies can now play the insight game like the big players, thanks to affordable and quick synthetic data insights.

Is it accurate?
Synthetic data is impressively accurate, often matching up to 90% with what you'd get from real human feedback.

What does this mean for ecommerce sellers?

It means sellers can rely on synthetic data to get a very close-to-reality view of the market without actually having to conduct traditional, time-intensive research with actual consumers.

Analysis: How Is AI Going To Disrupt Biz Models, Marketing And More

This is a fantastic analysis on how AI would reshape quite a few elements of how we do business. Here’s a summary but would encourage you to read the whole thing.

Real Time Optimisation:

AI is ushering in a transformative era for business models across various industries. Traditional data analysis, once a protracted cycle of queries and presentations, is giving way to AI's capability for real-time optimization and insight generation. This shift could lead to radical changes in how businesses operate. For example, dating apps may begin to limit AI efficiency to avoid becoming too effective and losing users quickly, or music streaming services like Spotify may tweak algorithms to favor longer songs to maximize payout structures based on listening time.

Time-Based Biz Models:

AI is poised to disrupt time-based compensation models prevalent among professionals such as designers and lawyers. The value delivered to clients increasingly comes from experience rather than the hours logged, prompting a potential shift to value-based or results-oriented billing. This change reflects a deeper understanding of the real drivers of value, like expertise and creativity, and may necessitate new pricing standards that better capture the worth of these professional services.

Decrease in Influence of Brands and Marketing

The role of AI in purchase decisions signals a decrease in the influence of brands and marketing. As AI becomes more adept at understanding personal preferences and evaluating product quality, subjective factors like brand loyalty could diminish, challenging marketers to find new ways to engage customers. The rise of AI in procurement processes also threatens to diminish the weight of relationships and emotional biases, potentially leading to more meritocratic outcomes in both consumer and enterprise purchasing.

Amazon’s AI Image Tool Is Out

Expectation…

Reality…

During Unboxed last week, Amazon intro-ed a new AI-based image generation tool aimed to assist advertisers who are struggling with creative development for ads.

The tool has multiple features: It can generate a variety of images with the goal of making products look better in ads, it uses pictures focusing on lifestyle imagery, its interface is designed to be user-friendly and there are options for customization. That’s the Amazon’s pitch for you.

Yet, coming from a one of the first beta users, the results are still pretty underwhelming….

What does this mean for ecommerce sellers?

Okay, okay, let’s not be harsh… It’s not there yet but it means a start. So perhaps you won’t be getting rid of your creative team just yet but over time you might have a handy little AI helper to get some of the SB images out.

The Quick Read:

  • Action Time: Be sure to check out this article which talks about the importance of product-led SEO in the age of AI. It highlights how the traditional SEO approach is evolving due to oversaturation, suggesting adapting to a product-led SEO strategy.

  • Instagram experiments with a new sticker creation tool allowing users to make custom stickers from personal photos for Reels and Stories. Unlike AI-generated stickers, this feature simplifies the process by removing backgrounds from selected photos.

Today’s Content Spotlight:

For all ecommerce sellers struggling with managing Customer Support, here are 11 handy AI tools to help you with this.

The Tools List:

Ween.ai -The AI platform that turns customer qualitative data into actionable insights in minutes instead of weeks.

Embedchai.ai - Enables you to connect multiple data sources with LLMs. Load, index, retrieve & sync unstructured data.

Datagpt.com -Ask DataGPT any question and get analyst-grade answers in seconds.

Tapasom- A platform that unites creators and brands for a powerful, unstoppable impact

Descript- A powerful all-in-one video and podcast editing tool using AI

Pictory- Automatically create short, branded videos from long-form content

Longshot- ChatGPT for enterprises. Upload your docs, fact check, ensure zero hallucinations and integrate anywhere

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