Amazon unveils AI-driven image generation tool for advertisers

Company has offered use of its new tool to select advertisers and will expand availability in the coming months

Amazon said advertising products in a lifestyle setting can lead to almost 40 per cent higher click-through rates. AP

Amazon has launched a new generative artificial intelligence tool to produce images that could eventually help brands to create lifestyle imagery to improve advertising campaigns and create engaging content.

Still in its beta phase, the new solution aims to help businesses of all sizes, especially those that do not have in-house capabilities or agency support to produce brand-themed imagery.

“All sellers or brands need to do is upload a product photo and description to quickly create unique lifestyle images that will help customers discover products they love,” Andy Jassy, Amazon’s chief executive, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Amazon said advertising products in a lifestyle setting can lead to almost 40 per cent higher click-through rates.

Over the past few years, AI has led to major advances in the efficiency of digital advertising. However, in a March survey, Amazon found that among those advertisers that were unable to build successful campaigns, nearly 75 per cent cited building advertising creatives and choosing a creative format as their biggest challenges.

The company has offered use of its new image generation tool to select advertisers and will expand its availability in the coming months. Amazon said it will improve the tool based on customer feedback.

“Producing engaging and differentiated creatives can increase cost and often requires introducing additional expertise into the advertising process,” said Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of Amazon advertisement products and technology.

“Providing tools to make image generation simple and easy is another way for us to support advertisers while also making the ads our customers see more engaging and visually rich … it’s a perfect use for generative AI – less effort and better outcomes,” said Ms Aubrey.

Amazon is focused on using generative AI to improve its offerings, Mr Jassy said in July.

“It is going to be at the heart of what we do. It is a significant investment and focus for us,” he said that time.

Last month, it announced to invest $4 billion in US AI start-up and ChatGPT rival Anthropic as it seeks to strengthen its position in the technology, which is booming around the globe.

How does it work?

Advertisers will select their product and click “generate”, with the tool leveraging generative AI to deliver a set of brand-themed lifestyle images based on product details in few seconds.

The image can then be refined by entering short text prompts, while a number of versions can be quickly created and tested to optimise performance, Amazon said.