AI-Generated Images Too Popular? AI Image Creation Gains Consumer Favor During Double 11 Shopping Festival
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Since the rise of ChatGPT, AI-generated images have become increasingly popular among young people. While top international AI design tools like Midjourney and Stable Diffusion serve as assistants for designers, domestically, AI-generated images and portraits are gaining traction among consumers in the social media era.
In July this year, the app 'Miao Ya Camera,' which offers portrait designs for just 9.9 yuan, quickly went viral. Users only need to upload 20 front-facing photos of themselves to create a personalized digital avatar. Based on template styles, the app can generate individual portraits. Many parents have even used this feature to create 'school ID photos' for their children. For just 9.9 yuan, unruly kids can have adorable and well-behaved ID photos.
For many consumers, AI is the 'light of technology.' Although the generated photos are fictional, they look realistic enough to satisfy social and aesthetic needs.
If Miao Ya Camera was the 'appetizer' that tapped into this consumer demand, then during this year's Double 11 shopping festival, Taobao has become Alibaba's focal point for AI integration.
According to Taobao's merchant management backend, a new category for artificial intelligence services has been added, including options such as AI painting, AI photo generation, AI 4D ultrasound, and AI voice packages.
During this year's Double 11 shopping festival, many merchants offered AI-generated products like paintings, photos, 4D ultrasounds, and voice packages, available for just a few yuan. The Taobao AI search interface also recommended queries such as "Which AI products are most worth buying during Double 11?"
A search for "AI baby 4D photos" on Taobao revealed that many merchants have received over a thousand orders, indicating that AI-generated images have gained traction during the shopping festival.
The addition of the AI services category during Double 11 means more opportunities for merchants and more choices for consumers. With this new category, the platform is expected to introduce support policies for merchants, along with dedicated customer service to gradually expand the range of products available in this segment.
Not only that, but many self-media bloggers and app landing pages on short video platforms are also promoting AI-generated image products. Topics like #AIBabyFacePrediction and #BabyFacePrediction have reached tens of millions or even billions of views, precisely capturing the attention of expecting and new mothers.
In this regard, an expectant mother about to give birth shared her Double 11 shopping festival orders with the AI model community. Driven by curiosity, she also purchased a product for predicting her baby's 3D AI photo.
Regarding the AI-generated predictions of her baby's appearance, the expectant mother said, "This is my first time being a mother. I don't know what my baby, who has been with me for so long, will look like when born. Although I haven't met him/her yet, seeing the AI-generated photo gave me psychological comfort. This baby must be my little angel. I'll share this photo on social media for my family and friends to see."
Taking examples like Miaoya Camera and AI predictions of baby's 4D appearance, although these AI-generated images based on original photos are fictional, they appear "authentically fake" and meet most consumers' psychological expectations. This has become key to the thriving AI image generation industry.
Big Model Home believes that AI-generated images can analyze and predict facial features, contours, skin tone, hairstyle, and other characteristics through algorithms and models, creating virtual images that meet users' expectations. This technology offers advantages like efficiency, convenience, and personalization, greatly satisfying consumers' demand for virtual images and capturing social media traffic. However, since AI image generation primarily relies on facial recognition technology, it may involve privacy concerns that consumers should be aware of.
This year, with the support of Wenxin Yiyan, Baidu officially launched its new e-commerce brand Baidu Youxuan, positioning it as an intelligent e-commerce platform integrating search, browsing, and recommendations. Following its Yanxi e-commerce model, JD.com introduced a series of cloud-based AIGC products. Meanwhile, Taobao rolled out products like Taobao Ask, AI Home Design, and AI Creation Assistant.
Big Model Home believes that Taobao's launch of a new first-level AI services category during Double 11 is a positive initiative, bringing good news for both merchants and consumers in the AI services sector. It not only provides more sales channels and business opportunities but also promotes the application and development of AI technology in the e-commerce field.
Taobao's addition of the AI services category also reflects the increasingly widespread application of AI technology in e-commerce. AI services cover multiple areas, including image generation, speech recognition, and medical image analysis, all of which are closely related to e-commerce transactions, logistics, and customer service. For instance, AI painting and AI photo generation can be used for product image creation, AI voice packages for customer service responses, and AI 4D ultrasounds for enhancing product displays and user experience.
In the long term, on one hand, AI technology can optimize the user experience on e-commerce platforms through intelligent recommendations, smart search, and AI customer service, analyzing user behavior data to understand shopping habits and needs for precise marketing. On the other hand, it can help e-commerce platforms improve supply chain management, increase inventory turnover and logistics efficiency, while fostering innovation in the e-commerce industry and providing new business opportunities and growth points.
The application and development of AI technology in the e-commerce industry will bring more innovation and transformation, helping e-commerce platforms improve efficiency, optimize user experience, and increase sales. At the same time, major e-commerce platforms need to actively explore and practice, combining their own business characteristics to find the most suitable AI application scenarios and development strategies.