Generative artificial intelligence is all over the online shopping space — but has that actually made the experience better? The Verge reporter Mia Sato did a try-on and review of clothes by the AI fashion brand Finesse. And afterwards, she tested AI-powered e-commerce tools that generate images and product descriptions.
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00:00 This is not a normal clothing website.
00:02 The clothes look like the clothes that I was buying for my Sims.
00:06 We are about to spend $400 on clothes created using AI.
00:11 This hat makes me laugh.
00:13 I am sorry to say that I'm obsessed with this.
00:17 Companies in all different industries are jumping to find a use for artificial intelligence tools
00:23 and it's starting to make online shopping confusing.
00:25 So let's see what shows up in the mail.
00:28 Oh boy, okay.
00:29 Let's see what's going on in here.
00:31 In the last year, AI shopping tools have been everywhere.
00:36 eBay sellers can auto-generate product descriptions.
00:39 Amazon promises its AI Fit feature will help you find the right size for clothing.
00:43 And Shopify, which is an e-com giant, has rolled out AI tools to edit images and write website copy.
00:49 Levi's even experimented with AI models in order to quote "increase diversity"
00:53 without actually having to use the tools.
00:55 They sort of apologized for it, but it signaled a trend that was growing.
00:59 Companies say these new tools will benefit shoppers and merchants.
01:03 And the thinking is that if an AI tool can predict your size, for example,
01:06 you wouldn't have to order multiples.
01:08 Or if eBay listings have more details generated using AI,
01:11 you, the shopper, would have more information to figure out if you want to buy something.
01:15 On the seller's side, the idea is that the AI tools help businesses scale up,
01:19 produce marketing materials, and offer customers a more accurate,
01:23 more seamless shopping experience.
01:25 We wanted to test this promise that AI could improve how we shop.
01:29 And the best way to do that is to actually buy things.
01:32 So we'll jump into all of this after the break.
01:34 Today, AI is at the forefront of our technological advances.
01:38 And as it continues to integrate into our day-to-day activities,
01:41 it will need even more processing power to execute our needs.
01:44 That's why Intel is pushing the boundaries of engineering, connectivity, and infrastructure.
01:49 Intel is a pioneer in this area.
01:51 Intel is a pioneer of innovative chip designs that power data centers,
01:55 the cloud, and even devices at home, such as your desktops and laptops.
01:59 But now they're expanding their expertise and aim to create sustainable supply chains
02:03 and cultivate ecosystems where academic, global, and tech industry leaders can collaborate
02:09 to help shape the future of AI systems for all.
02:11 Now, Intel doesn't influence our editorial videos,
02:14 but they do help make videos like this possible.
02:16 Alright, that's it for me.
02:18 Let's get back to the story.
02:19 [MUSIC]
02:21 One company bragging about its use of artificial intelligence is a brand called Finesse,
02:25 which sells trendy clothing that looks straight out of my Instagram feed.
02:29 And in fact, it probably is.
02:30 Finesse, which launched in 2021, claims to be the first AI-driven fashion house
02:35 using proprietary AI algorithms to spot trends and produce exactly the right amount of products,
02:42 therefore avoiding overproduction.
02:44 Oh my god, I'm obsessed with this.
02:45 Sadly, it's out of stock.
02:46 Which doesn't really make sense.
02:47 Like, if their whole thing is that they can predict exactly how many people want it,
02:50 I'm curious why it would even be out of stock.
02:53 But whatever.
02:54 The company scrapes social media and comment sections to gauge an item's popularity.
02:59 And this digital-first design philosophy driven by big data
03:02 really jumps out when you're scrolling the site.
03:04 These just get-- I feel like the more I scroll, the crazier these things get.
03:08 I noticed tons of products I had definitely seen before.
03:11 A nearly exact replica of one of Taylor Swift's Grammy dresses,
03:15 outfits by independent designers that went viral on TikTok or Instagram,
03:19 and even copies of famous vintage pieces that would cost tens of thousands of dollars.
03:23 Finesse is selling my Instagram feed right back to me.
03:27 If the Finesse designs look unreal,
03:29 it's because most of them aren't actual photos of clothing items.
03:32 They're 3D digital renderings.
03:34 Finesse produces one physical sample for its items that is reviewed in person and virtually.
03:40 Spokesperson Nancy Yang told me in an email that
03:42 unless there's a production issue with that sample,
03:45 every design is pushed to be manufactured to purchase.
03:48 This seam is crooked, and this is the digital mock-up.
03:50 I don't really know how the digital version of the garment
03:54 could screw up the seam and sew it so crooked.
03:58 Normally, fashion brands like Gap or Nike make multiple physical mock-ups
04:02 of the clothes they're going to produce,
04:04 and then test them with models for fit, fabric, and other details.
04:08 If they like the mock-up, they will go into full production.
04:11 Oscar de la Renta, for example, which makes the original Taylor Swift Grammys dress,
04:15 tweaks designs until they are just right.
04:17 Finesse told Forbes that it skips the traditional process
04:20 of producing multiple prototypes and instead designs digitally.
04:24 Finesse has customers vote on designs and then reviews a physical sample
04:29 produced at one of their overseas factories and approves it virtually and in person.
04:34 Skipping that detailed fitting process seems like a big risk,
04:38 and personally, I'm skeptical that well-fitting clothes can be made almost entirely digitally.
04:43 Finesse is far from the only retailer that uses AI in its production process.
04:48 On Instagram, where I get a lot of knitting and crafting ideas,
04:52 my explore page is littered with pictures of crochet inspiration.
04:56 And to me, it's clear that the images are AI-generated.
04:59 Oh my god, yeah.
05:00 On DoorDash, restaurants use images of dishes that are clearly AI-generated.
05:06 This cheese looks like silly string and something's going on with this bread up here.
05:13 I would not order there.
05:14 On Amazon, I found a whole cottage industry of knitting books for pet clothes.
05:19 That cat is not real. The hat is not real.
05:21 They're all really cute, but this is not a real cat.
05:26 That hasn't stopped people from buying them, though.
05:28 On platforms like Etsy, which promotes handmade indie items,
05:32 some merchants are selling knitting and crochet patterns
05:35 for objects that clearly do not exist in real life.
05:37 But not everyone sees this.
05:39 Under every post, there are people asking how they can buy the item or the design.
05:43 Though you might be able to tell when something is synthetic,
05:46 AI-generated images and other content is fooling people,
05:50 slotted between real content on platforms customers trust.
05:53 15 minutes, here it is.
05:56 Look what arrived.
06:00 As it says, it's your boots.
06:04 [laughs]
06:06 First up, we have kind of like the control.
06:09 It's like something that we thought would be pretty straightforward.
06:12 I will be right back.
06:13 This is the most normal thing that we, by far, the most normal thing.
06:17 In terms of overall construction, I mean, again, it's like pretty standard
06:25 fast fashion quality, I would say.
06:27 The stitching is like pulling apart a bit.
06:29 Like if you pull apart the seam right there,
06:32 I mean, it's knit, so it kind of warps it anyways.
06:35 But it is pretty much exactly what we ordered.
06:37 So I would say this is a pretty good like baseline.
06:40 These are white detachable boots.
06:43 So you can like take the leg part off and then wear them as ankle boots.
06:46 Calling these boots is being very generous.
06:49 The buckle stuff is right where you're bending your knee.
06:52 This actually feels like how AI would design a boot that is like
06:58 convertible without really understanding how like human anatomy works.
07:01 They do not feel sturdy at all.
07:04 Two thumbs down.
07:05 Can they execute something that is a little more complicated,
07:09 that has different elements to it and different textures?
07:12 We'll see.
07:14 I put a pair of black tights on underneath the skirt.
07:16 It was so sheer that we just wanted to put something underneath.
07:19 At the bottom, there are all these like loose threads.
07:23 This is fast fashion, Shein, Timu quality, AliExpress.
07:29 Oh boy.
07:29 Okay, so I'll try it on and see what's going on here.
07:34 Otherwise, no promises that I will emerge because this might be not the vibe.
07:40 We'll see.
07:41 Okay, I'll explain what's bad about it in a minute.
07:44 It's just I have it on, but it's a no.
07:46 The main problem is that it's extremely uncomfortable and does not stay up.
07:51 Just the overall fit of this is exactly why you test this with real humans,
07:56 where you get prototypes and you get samples and you work with people.
08:00 Maybe there's a photo that this dress would look good in,
08:02 but if you saw it in person, I think the illusion immediately fades.
08:06 It might be time for Taylor Swift.
08:08 A straight up copy of a dress she wore to the Grammys several years ago.
08:12 We have this enormous coat that I'm going to put on over it.
08:15 We'll see if I can actually come outside
08:16 because this has been clearly an issue with these clothes.
08:19 It's like they are unwearable in the presence of co-workers.
08:22 The coat is pretty fun, I will say.
08:27 This is what the fur collar looks like on this 3D rendered digital image.
08:33 It just looks furrier.
08:35 And this is not what people are getting in the mail.
08:36 They're getting this.
08:37 So I think there's a pretty big difference.
08:39 I'll say it's one of the most uncomfortable dresses I've ever put on my body.
08:42 Every time I look at it, there's more little threads coming undone.
08:46 And this is like, we have not even stepped out of my house.
08:48 Okay, so these flowers, they are just kind of floppy there.
08:53 Like they're not tacked back,
08:54 which I think is not totally obvious in the image on the website.
08:58 I'm not really sure, like, the psychology behind making something that is,
09:02 it looks so similar, but then is so noticeably worse.
09:05 So we have all of our finesse stuff.
09:08 There were some okay things, a lot of flops.
09:12 And we're going to try to resell them using these AI tools that sellers often use.
09:16 I'm going to create an account on this website called Pebbley.
09:19 And it basically takes a product image and puts it on different backgrounds,
09:23 different models, all using AI.
09:25 Next, we're going to get some flat lay images of the clothes that we're going to try to resell.
09:30 And then we will put it into Pebbley and generate some AI models and put the clothes on them.
09:35 Okay, black hair, beautiful female model posing in jeans.
09:39 Okay, we're going to generate.
09:45 Oh no, Pebbley, what did you do?
09:47 What did you do to this poor lady?
09:49 Also, it said pose her in jeans.
09:51 Where are the jeans?
09:52 There's nothing here.
09:54 What's going on?
09:55 Pebbley is struggling a little bit.
09:57 So I'm going to give Pebbley maybe a different picture that it is not confused by.
10:01 Okay, it took the picture.
10:03 I'm just going to randomize the features again.
10:06 Chinese, blonde, neutral expression, female.
10:08 And then I'm going to just say black pants.
10:14 She has three arms and we will use it on our eBay listing.
10:18 She has fully three arms.
10:20 We're going to use those on eBay and then also do AI generated product descriptions.
10:26 Red turtleneck sweater.
10:30 So we generated an AI product description and this is what eBay gave us.
10:35 While eBay's AI text generator adds more words to the product description,
10:40 it doesn't actually say anything that would be useful to the buyer.
10:43 They're just fluff filler words like the color or how well it will go with a skirt and pants.
10:49 If I were the buyer, I'd probably be annoyed with my purchase
10:52 and maybe the item would end up returned after all.
10:55 All right, here we have it.
10:56 So we have two AI women wearing sort of the sweater.
11:00 Didn't really work.
11:02 And then we have a flat lay of the sweater.
11:04 And then if we scroll down, we have this description that is generated by AI.
11:11 There's no indication on eBay's part that this is an AI description,
11:15 which you might feel like it's a little misleading.
11:17 And now it's live and you can bid on it starting at six dollars.
11:21 So did AI make my shopping experience better?
11:24 In the case of Finesse, at least,
11:26 the items arrived quickly and safely and resembled what I saw on the website, mostly.
11:31 But when I shop, I'm looking for things that are well made.
11:34 It doesn't really seem like AI made these products better.
11:37 They're just faster to produce and sell.
11:39 We'll undoubtedly see more AI content online going forward,
11:43 but there's already a lot of it floating around, even if we don't realize it.
11:47 From now on, we'll need to be extra cautious as we shop online
11:51 to make sure we know exactly what we're buying.
11:53 I took the dress and I wanted product images and said, put it outdoors.
11:58 This is what they've given me.
11:59 It's in the snow.
12:00 Another one, they put it on a rock.
12:03 It appears to be on a like a lollipop stick.
12:06 These, OK, then they put it on a tree.
12:08 "Okay, this isn't helpful for my business."