They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in ecommerce, a picture is worth something even more valuable: customer trust. High-quality visuals don’t just showcase your products. They shape first impressions, influence purchasing decisions, and set the foundation for brand perception. In an era where consumers are inundated with options, blurry, inconsistent, or poorly lit product images can cost you sales before a shopper even clicks “add to cart.”
It’s no secret that as digital storefronts become more sophisticated, artificial intelligence (AI) is redefining how brands create and enhance product visuals. From automated background removal to AI-generated lifestyle photography, brands are turning to intelligent image enhancement tools to streamline production, improve quality, and drive conversions at scale.
For ecommerce brands, AI-driven photography isn’t a trend — it’s the new standard. Let’s dive into how it’s being used.
AI-Generated Product Photography: An Overview
AI-powered image generation is making high-quality visuals more accessible, scalable, and cost-effective than ever before. According to Future Market Insights, as of 2024, the AI image editor market was valued at approximately $80.3 million, and projections suggest it will grow to $219.9 million by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 10.50% over the next decade.
What’s more: according to Statista, AI image editors and generators were the fastest-growing category on G2 in 2024, with a staggering 441% year-over-year growth rate. (G2 is a software review platform that tracks the adoption and performance of various software tools based on user reviews and market presence).
In comparison, the next fastest-growing category, AI chatbots, saw a 252% growth rate. In other words, AI’s transformative impact on photography for ecommerce is massive.
Traditional product photography requires expensive equipment, professional photographers, and extended post-production work. AI-driven tools significantly reduce costs by automating these steps while allowing businesses to scale their product visuals effortlessly, whether they need ten images or ten thousand.
Additionally, AI-generated images are improving consistency and personalization. Brands can now use AI to create custom visuals tailored to different audience segments so their product photography can align with more specific customer preferences.
In this article, we’ll explore seven ways the role of artificial intelligence is transforming ecommerce photography:
- Virtual Try-On and Augmented Reality
- Automated Image Editing
- Smart Image Compression
- Image Recognition & Tagging
- AI-Powered Video Generation
- Visual Search Optimization
- AI-Assisted Copywriting & Descriptions
Virtual Try-On and Augmented Reality
Built on augmented reality (AR) technology, virtual try-on allows customers to visualize products in their lives before making a purchase. This technology isn’t limited to fashion; major retailers like Amazon have implemented AR-powered furniture placement, allowing shoppers to use their smartphone cameras to see how that new bookshelf would fit into their space in real time.
Accessing virtual try-on technology is now easier than ever. Companies don’t need extensive technical expertise to integrate these solutions, as they are readily available in AR development frameworks like Apple’s ARKit & RealityKit or Google’s ARCore.
For example, ARCore merges virtual elements with the real world using smartphone cameras and advanced capabilities such as motion tracking, environmental understanding, and light estimation, ensuring a seamless and realistic visualization experience.
Why Virtual Try-On is a Game-Changer for ecommerce
Fewer Returns
Product returns pose a significant financial burden for ecommerce brands, amounting to $550 billion annually, according to Snap’s Global Product Marketing Lead. A McKinsey study found that 70% of returns stem from issues with fit or style. Virtual try-on technology helps customers make more confident purchasing decisions, reducing return rates and increasing customer satisfaction.
Increased Sustainability
Fewer returns also contribute to a lower carbon footprint. Beyond the environmental impact, sustainability plays a key role in brand loyalty. A recent study found that 78% of U.S. consumers consider a sustainable lifestyle important. Investing in AR-driven virtual try-ons aligns with customer values and enhances long-term brand trust.
Improved Customer Experience
Virtual try-on technology allows shoppers to explore, customize, and interact with products from the comfort of their homes. Whether it’s testing makeup shades, previewing how a couch fits in their living room, or checking how a pair of glasses complements their face shape, AR technology brings ecommerce experiences closer to real-world shopping.
Automated Image Editing
Instead of relying on manual adjustments, AI-powered tools like Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and Pixelcut can instantly enhance images by adjusting brightness, contrast, sharpness, and even removing imperfections. These platforms streamline editing for ecommerce brands, helping them maintain high-quality visuals at scale.
- Instant Image Enhancements: AI tools such as Adobe Sensei (Photoshop’s AI engine) and Fotor can automatically correct lighting, exposure, and color balance, ensuring every product image maintains a polished and professional look.
- Smart Background Removal: Tools like Remove.bg, Pixelcut, and Canva’s AI-powered editor seamlessly remove or replace backgrounds, saving time and helping brands maintain visual consistency across their storefronts.
- Batch Processing & Scalability: AI-driven image editing platforms like Luminar Neo and Photoroom allow businesses to process thousands of images simultaneously, dramatically reducing post-production time and effort.
- Brand Consistency: AI ensures that all images follow a uniform style and quality, reinforcing brand identity and improving customer perception. Adobe Firefly and VistaCreate use AI to generate stylistic consistency across product images.
- Object & Imperfection Detection: AI tools like Topaz Labs and Retouch Pro detect and remove dust, scratches, and unwanted reflections, enhancing image clarity and visual appeal.
By automating tedious and time-consuming editing tasks, AI-powered image editing tools accelerate time-to-market, reduce costs, and allow ecommerce brands to keep up with fast-moving consumer expectations—without sacrificing quality.
Smart Image Compression
High-resolution images are crucial for showcasing product details, but they often slow down website load speeds, negatively impacting user experience and SEO rankings. AI-driven image compression optimizes visuals without sacrificing quality, ensuring fast-loading pages that keep shoppers engaged.
- Optimized file formats: AI selects the best compression techniques to balance quality and performance.
- SEO-friendly images: Faster load times improve search rankings and reduce bounce rates.
- Automated compression at scale: AI can handle large image libraries efficiently, maintaining visual integrity while reducing storage costs.
Image Recognition & Tagging
Managing large product catalogs is a challenge for ecommerce brands, but AI-powered image recognition tools are making it easier. Instead of relying on manual tagging and categorization, AI analyzes images and automatically assigns relevant tags, descriptions, and attributes, improving search functionality and streamlining inventory management.
How It Works:
Ecommerce Platforms with Built-in AI Tagging: Shopify and BigCommerce integrate AI-driven product tagging tools that automatically categorize images and improve search accuracy. Shopify’s “Magic” AI tool and Google Merchant Center use machine learning to generate product attributes and descriptions.
Third-Party AI Image Recognition Apps: Platforms like Clarifai, Google Vision AI, and Amazon Rekognition analyze images to detect product details, making it easier to tag, classify, and optimize large catalogs.
Automated DAM (Digital Asset Management) Systems: AI-powered DAM solutions like Bynder, Cloudinary, and Adobe Experience Manager help brands organize, search, and retrieve product images with auto-tagging capabilities.
AI-powered image recognition is also the foundation of visual search, allowing customers to upload an image and find similar products instantly. While this technology fuels advanced search capabilities (covered in more detail in the Visual Search Optimization section), its core function — automating catalog organization — helps brands enhance search accuracy, improve discoverability, and streamline inventory management.
AI-Powered Visual Search Enhancements: Some ecommerce platforms integrate visual search tools, such as Syte and ViSenze, which allow customers to upload an image and find similar products instantly.
This technology also improves visual search capabilities, allowing customers to upload images and find similar products instantly. As AI refines search results based on visual content rather than keywords, shoppers can discover products more intuitively. Retailers leveraging AI image tagging see improved product discoverability and enhanced search accuracy, leading to higher conversion rates.
AI-Powered Video Generation
Research shows that video content increases conversion rates by up to 80%. But creating a video for each ecommerce product can be extremely time-consuming and expensive. To get around that, brands can use AI to generate promotional videos from existing product images, enhancing storytelling and customer engagement.
Visual Search Optimization
Visual search is revolutionizing how consumers discover products. Instead of relying on text-based queries, shoppers can now upload images and let AI find similar items instantly. AI-powered visual search refines product discovery by analyzing colors, patterns, and shapes, delivering more accurate and relevant results.
- Enhanced user experience: Customers find products faster and more intuitively.
- Data-driven recommendations: AI suggests similar items based on browsing behavior.
- Seamless mobile integration: Visual search enhances mobile shopping experiences, where text-based searches can be cumbersome.
AI-Assisted Copywriting & Descriptions
AI-powered tools can analyze product images and automatically generate compelling, SEO-optimized descriptions that improve search rankings and drive conversions.
Beyond automation, AI can personalize descriptions for different customer segments, tailoring messaging based on preferences and buying behaviors. This level of customization helps brands create more engaging and relevant product listings that resonate with their audience. With AI-assisted copywriting, brands can maintain consistency in tone, style, and accuracy across extensive product catalogs.
The Future of AI-Driven Ecommerce Photography
AI-driven photography is changing how brands interact with and connect with consumers. From virtual try-ons to automated editing, smart compression, and AI-powered video creation, these innovations are reshaping the digital shopping experience.
As AI continues to evolve, ecommerce brands that embrace these technologies will gain a competitive advantage, offering faster, smarter, and more personalized shopping experiences that drive conversions and long-term customer loyalty.
Nogin: At the Intersection of Technology and Art
Nogin understands that the collaboration between technology and brand is an art form. From AI-powered image enhancement to creative production, our team draws from decades of experience to help ecommerce brands stand out. We pinpoint your needs and produce first-rate content with minimal stress and maximum impact.
To see our work in action and learn how Nogin’s cutting-edge AI-driven photography solutions can transform your brand, visit our studio page.
