Dive Brief:
- Creating another artificial intelligence tool for its sellers, eBay introduced a photo background enhancement feature to improve product images, the e-commerce veteran announced last week.
- Using the tool, sellers can swap the background of their image with an AI-generated backdrop, such as a natural scene for used hiking boots or a studio backdrop for action figures, the company said.
- The app is available on iOS devices in the U.S., the U.K. and Germany, and will become available to Android users in the coming months. The company will iterate based on feedback on the feature to improve it.
Dive Insight:
EBay has been tapping into tech to develop more tools to help its merchants seamlessly create attractive product listings. In 2020, the company debuted its Image Cleanup tool, which switched the background of an image with a white backdrop. Last year, eBay launched its “magical listing” tool, which analyzes and summarizes product details directly from images to assist in creating product listings.
With its background enhancement tool, eBay plans to use the feedback from sellers who use it over the coming year to improve its visual generation models, according to the announcement. The company noted that it developed the tool with help from its Responsible AI team to address possible “unintended consequences.”
“We are using AI to help our sellers accomplish their listings more seamlessly, faster, and with higher quality,” Vice President of Seller Experience Xiaodi Zhang said in a statement. “Our sellers’ time is valuable, and we want to ensure our tools allow them to meet their listing goals and drive more sales.”
Meanwhile, other major players have been using AI to help sellers with their images and product descriptions. In May 2023, Google debuted its Product Studio, which allows sellers to change and create pictures using generative AI. Later that year, Amazon introduced a tool to help merchants write product descriptions with generative AI.
