We’ve already spoken at length about AI and its applications in e-commerce, notably with ChatGPT and marketing automation.
There’s one point, however, that we haven’t touched on, and which deserves to be highlighted because of its great potential for e-commerce: the generation of visuals thanks to AI.
A mere gadget for some, a revolution for others, let’s take a look at how to use AI-driven image generation for your e-commerce site. 
The advantages of using AI to optimize the visuals of your e-commerce store
Many e-tailers have experienced the frustration of not finding the perfect visuals for their e-commerce store, of not having templates for their products, or of having to pay professionals, sometimes at a premium, for quality photos and designs.
AI seems to be providing providential solutions to these problems, with software such as Midjourney, DALL.E and Generated.Photos.
Unique, royalty-free images to enhance your online store
In addition to its unattainable speed of creation for any human being, the primary advantage of AI-powered image creation software lies in the fact that each new image generated is unique and royalty-free.
The implications are enormous: no copyrights, no duplicates that ruin SEO, no plagiarism… and infinite possibilities for supplying your ecommerce store with original visuals!
Another crucial point to bear in mind: many software packages, such as Midjourney or DALL.E, come with a free version.
So, provided you learn how to transmit your instructions correctly to the software, it’s possible to obtain personalized visuals without going to a graphics, photography or design professional, whose services can reach very high prices (although it’s worth noting that, today, no one understands the world of an e-commerce store as well as a real-life professional, so the use of AI is to be preferred for the creation of common visuals, with a precise positioning in mind).
Countless technical uses for AI in online business
AI-assisted image generation is not limited to simple banners or photo frames to be filled in, and the applications are diverse and varied as far as e-commerce is concerned.
It’s possible, for example, to cleanly rectify or crop a product photo without using retouching software, to create realistic mock-ups, to test general visuals for your homepage, to generate visuals for your posts and advertising campaigns, or to use human models… that simply don’t exist!
Thanks to software like Generated.Photos (no, none of the people in the image below are real). 
E-commerce stores centered around AI, why not?
In addition to using AI-based image generation to boost visual communication, some e-tailers have taken the plunge and created a range of products or services based entirely on artificial intelligence.
Use Mid Journey and consors to power your online store
Some online retailers and content creators have decided to make the most of what AI image generation software has to offer.
We can find, for example, accessory or decoration boutiques that offer designs and visuals exclusively derived from “AI generated” images, or brands whose visual universe has been developed from A to Z thanks to AI.
Some graphic designers and digital artists have even taken the lead in using AI at various levels to produce original creations, either by testing ideas and models (which is more akin to inspiration), or by specializing in inputting commands to push software to produce increasingly precise and perfect complete works.
AI’s potential for visual creation could therefore drive a business model in its own right.
But that’s not all!
Going beyond image generation with AI
Simply asking how you can use AI-driven image generation for your e-commerce site would be limiting, as the applications of AI in terms of images are much broader than that and go beyond mere creation.
Indeed, it is already possible to use artificial intelligence to search for specific products based on images, and to carry out virtual fittings using a simple webcam.
Similarly, high-performance product/service configurators are being developed thanks to AI, offering consumers online experiences that come close to, and even tend to surpass, a physical retail experience.
In conclusion: Is AI image creation a gimmick or a real revolution for e-commerce?
We are truly at the beginning of the “AI revolution” as far as e-commerce is concerned.
Like the internet in its early days, the possibilities are vast, and most of them have yet to be discovered.
We can therefore consider image generation via AI, as well as other visual applications of AI, to be a welcome time- and money-saving tool for e-tailers, in addition to offering alternative business models for content creators.
But there’s nothing magical about AI, and its development is entirely dependent on how the general public uses it and will use it in the future (AI develops through learning).
So don’t hesitate to use AI-based image software, test it out, find ideas, inspiration and ways to automate and personalize your e-commerce store, while remaining fully aware that AI is still far from surpassing human thought and creativity.
I’ve been a developer and e-commerce expert for over 15 years, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about creating or developing your e-commerce store. And I promise, I’m not a robot!
