TikTok, the popular social media platform, is making waves in the e-commerce industry by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze video content and offer similar products to viewers12.
The AI Experiment
TikTok is currently testing an AI tool that identifies products in videos and suggests similar ones for sale via its Shop feature1. This test involves using machine-object detection to find items and recommend them on TikTok Shop1. The company has started using AI to scan videos, identify items, and encourage users to buy similar products through its e-commerce marketplace, TikTok Shop1.
While TikTok has previously allowed creators to tag products in videos as part of its affiliate program, this new feature currently occurs without notifying the creator — and without the promise of a commission on sales their video helps drive1. A TikTok spokesperson said it’s an early-stage experiment with limited availability to a small subset of users in the US and UK, and that it may never officially launch1.
The Impact on E-commerce
The integration of AI into TikTok’s platform shows how deeply the company is integrating e-commerce into the app’s overall user experience1. The company has been on an all-out blitz in recent months to make shopping take off — offering shipping deals and other discounts to sellers, paying bonuses to influencers who add affiliate links, and launching a series of Black Friday and Cyber Monday incentives for merchants1.
Guess what? There’s a whole crowd of companies out there using AI to take their online shopping game to the next level. Want to hear about some of them?
1. ASOS, eBay, Walmart, Levi’s, Disney, Salesforce, Snapchat, Ikea, and Lifestyle are well-known retailers utilizing advanced AI-based visual search.
2. Anaplan uses its Predictive Intelligence Platform to help retailers keep current customers and find new ones.
3. Clarifai offers an AI-powered recognition platform that helps classify images, videos, audio and text.
4. DRINKS uses AI for their curated wine business platform.
5. Emotive uses AI for customized marketing messages.
6. Hungryroot leverages AI for personalized meal recipes.
7. IBM’s Watson is widely used in the retail industry for various AI applications.
You know, these companies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to using AI in online shopping. It’s a big, exciting world out there with AI making shopping online easier and more personalized every day. Can’t wait to see what’s next!
Future Developments
In addition to manual labeling by creators, TikTok is also working on developing a way to automatically detect and label AI content3. This week, it will begin testing an “AI-generated” label that will eventually apply to any content that it detects was edited or created with AI3.
Conclusion
TikTok’s experiment with AI for product identification in videos represents a significant shift in the e-commerce landscape.
Thanks to AI, TikTok is doing more than just making shopping a breeze for its users. It’s also paving the way for marketers and businesses to explore new possibilities. And as AI keeps getting better, it’s going to be really exciting to see how it changes the way we shop online in the future.