Amazon’s Generative AI for Ads: Should Creative Pros Beware?

Amazon has introduced an AI-powered image generation tool that can be used to create engaging advertising content even without creative expertise.

Although the tool is still in beta, it has already caused a stir in the advertising industry.

Below, learn what Amazon’s generative AI tool can do and what it means for creative professionals.

What does Amazon’s AI tool bring to marketers?

At the end of October 2023, Amazon launched a beta version of the tool based on generative AI, which is intended to support advertisers in creating ad images in the online marketplace.

The artificial intelligence image generation program can create background motifs that match the lifestyle of a product.

Let’s look at a real-world scenario that illustrates the need for Amazon‘s latest AI tool and its potential uses.

The application example

Rainer wants to make extra money by selling products on Amazon. He studies the market and learns that demand for computer monitors is increasing as more people work from home.

Rainer also sees the upcoming release of Sony Playstation 6 as a potential catalyst for greater demand for gaming monitors.

He buys 100 high-quality monitors from a wholesaler at a discount and now offers his product on Amazon .

Unfortunately, Rainer has neither the skills nor the equipment to create product photos for his ads. That’s why he takes a photo of the monitor against a white background with his iPhone.

Address target group

Rainer’s friend Anna is a marketing expert. She criticizes his product images and tells him that the photos need to be more eye-catching to stand out from the hundreds of other computer monitors on Amazon.

Anna Rainer also recommends adapting the product images to a specific lifestyle that appeals to the target customer.

The solution

Rainer doesn’t want to spend time or money hiring a professional product photographer and graphic designer for his advertising.

Instead, he uploads the product photo he took himself to Amazon ‘s advertising console .

He writes a prompt to instruct Amazon‘s AI program to create a specific type of background to match the product.

“Computer monitor on an office table.”

Amazon‘s AI tool offers Rainer several image variants to choose from. Rainer can add additional functions to the image using the “Expand with a topic” option.

In this case, he can complement the image “Computer monitor on an office table” with keyboards, mice, or speakers on the desk.

Rainer publishes the ad with AI-generated images.

Who can use Amazon’s AI tool?

The beta version of the AI ​​image generation tool started on October 25, 2023.

At the time of writing, the generative AI tool is only available to Amazon-registered sellers and vendors based in North America.

Users can access the program for free via the Amazon platform advertising console.

So if you are an Amazon seller in the US, you can create your ads with the help of the handy AI assistant.

Democratization of advertising tools

The beta launch of the AI ​​software developed by Amazon is a harbinger of technological disruption in the advertising industry.

One of the value propositions of productive AI tools is their ease of learning and use.

Based on the YouTube preview and company blogs, Amazon‘s AI image generation tool appears to be easy to use and will help both hobbyists and professionals.

Colleen Aubrey, senior vice president of Amazon Ads Products and Technology, put it well:

“It’s a perfect application for generative AI: less effort and better results.”

“Less effort” seems to be the mantra for generative AI tools. An updated version of the AI ​​image generation tool is expected to allow advertisers to do even more – write headlines, keywords, and product descriptions – with less effort.

It would also be an excellent bet to bet on the release of a comprehensive advertising AI tool soon.

A complete AI tool that not only creates ad creatives but also optimizes ad budgets, suggests geographic placements, selects target customer demographics and analyzes campaign performance would be the ultimate marketing tool.

The Debate: Will Amazon’s Image Creation Tool Hurt Photographers and Graphic Designers?

Product photographers and graphic designers are the two professions that could be affected by AI image-generation tools.

The reality of ongoing AI disruption is that the revenue pie for certain professional groups will shrink.

Sole proprietors and small businesses that lack the necessary expertise in creative production will see the emergence of generative AI as a way to bypass hiring creative talent.

When Amazon unveiled its AI-powered image generation tool, the company pointed to a March 2023 survey.

This found that almost 75% of respondents cited “creating promotional materials and choosing a creative format” as the biggest challenge in preparing successful advertising campaigns.

Colleen Aubrey added:

“Producing engaging and differentiated creative content can drive up costs and often requires incorporating additional expertise into the advertising process.”

“At Amazon Ads, we’re always thinking about how we can reduce friction for our advertisers, provide them with tools that achieve more impact with minimal effort, and ultimately provide a better advertising experience for our customers.”

Despite the dire predictions for creative professionals, it’s worth noting that there are key areas where AI cannot compete with humans: originality and creative thinking.

Any careful observer of media platforms like Instagram and YouTube knows how high the bar is for content creation.

The flood of content on the Internet makes human attention a scarce commodity.

Now that more and more marketers are adopting the same generative AI tools that thousands of others use, AI-generated content is becoming repetitive, boring, and predictable.

Only with human ingenuity does one have a chance to stand out in this hyper-competitive internet age. Brands and companies that want to stand out from the crowd recognize the importance of creative professionals.

In this sense, complacency is arguably a bigger threat to the creative job than generative AI.

Conclusion

The emergence of tools in the field of generative AI is a sign of the times.

Amazon‘s AI-powered image generation tool will help thousands of sellers on its platform create a more engaging and visually rich customer experience.

In my opinion, the sole proprietor or dropshipper – who does not have the time or resources to create attractive creative – will benefit the most from this AI tool.

To stay relevant in the changing job market, it is essential for creative professionals to continually improve their skills.

AI ​​tools are constantly being optimized through machine learning and natural language processing technologies.