How to create images with artificial intelligence for
e-commerce and social

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made significant changes in many areas including communication and retail; one of its most interesting applications for marketers is the creation of content and particularly images through generative AI (GenAI). So-called “synographies” (a term derived from the crasis of “photographs” and “synthetic”) can be used for digital communication in, for example, social media and e-commerce. This technology leverages sophisticated deep learning algorithms to produce original images from textual descriptions, opening up new opportunities for designers, companies and marketing professionals.

In this article we will look at how GenAI is transforming visual production and how it is possible to create images with text-to-image tools, explore the most popular tools, and discuss the concrete benefits for the future of online communication, social media, and e-commerce.

Generative AI represents a significant step forward in the field of visual creativity and is facilitating the creation of synthetic images, making visual production techniques more accessible for both professionals and businesses. Through the use of textual descriptions, or “prompts,” completely original, realistic and detailed images can be generated.

In particular, applying new artificial intelligence techniques to the e-commerce world or to the creation of visuals for social media, thus in contexts where high content production is required, can improve efficiency and introduce new personalization strategies.

Platforms such as DALL-E 2, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion are becoming increasingly accessible and popular, allowing high-quality images to be created quickly and opening up new creative potential.

Image making with generative AI tools has mainly two benefits for brands:

• efficiency and scalability even in the production of complex images: image generation using AI allows for significantly faster production times. For example, complex tasks that were sometimes given up due to extreme difficulty, such as shoots in exotic locations or scenarios and situations that are difficult to recreate, can now be completed in a few days. This is a huge advantage for companies that need large quantities of increasingly creative images, such as those in the e-commerce or social media sectors, where the need to create new content all the time is very high.
• Personalization: generative AI offers another level of personalization. Due to the efficiency of production and adaptation for each campaign, a different image can be created for each market niche, improving the effectiveness of the message.

GenAI’s tools for creating images at first glance seem very simple: simply make a request describing the expected output with a prompt to succeed in obtaining an image.

However, managing the production process professionally requires experience in the field: first of all, to have good control of the output, it is important to know the techniques of prompting; in addition to this, it is important to have an AI mindset oriented toward critical thinking and lateral thinking, which are essential to be able to make the most of the specifics of these tools with a focus on copyright issues.

In particular, the key skill in usinggenerative AI is“prompt engineering,” which is the ability to create detailed and accurate text descriptions that guide the creation of images. The quality of the images generated depends on the clarity of the prompt, which can include information about colors, art style, framing, and specific details. Learning this skill allows for highly personalized results that are consistent with the vision of the project.

The main platforms dominating thegenerative AI market with regard to visual content production are:

• DALL-E 2: Created by OpenAI, this tool was among the first to popularize image generation. Its integration with applications such as ChatGPT and Copilot has spread its use to all who use these virtual assistants.
• Midjourney: This tool is particularly popular for its distinctive visual style and for offering a wide range of options for creating artistic images. Initially it was accessible exclusively through Discord while as of summer 2024 a web version with various editing features was opened publicly. An interesting aspect of this type of tool is the ability to see content created by the rest of the community and to be able to use prompts and images to enhance one’s creativity.
• Stable Diffusion: this open-source model allows extreme control over image generation, and is perfect for those who wish to customize every aspect of the result. It also offers advanced techniques such as inpainting and outpainting.

The e-commerce industry is benefiting tremendously fromgenerative AI. With the ability to create custom images quickly and scalably, brands can remain competitive, improve user experience and optimize resource utilization. One demonstration of this is hair care brand Vitality’s, which relied on Orbyta Tech to facilitate the creation of online product catalogs by reducing production time and maintaining a high level of visual personalization.

In addition to visual production, in the retail world AI is also contributing to the creation of virtual assistants and immersive environments, anticipating a future where shopping experiences will be increasingly personalized and immersive, transforming sectors such as design and marketing, with new applications ranging from visual content creation to advertising strategy.

In conclusion,generative AI is having a significant impact in the production of visual content, offering a huge opportunity for designers, marketers and brands seeking to improve efficiency and open up new spaces for creativity. The ability to generate high quality, customized images allows them to better adapt to changing market needs and accelerate time-to-market for new collections.

For those who want to start trying their hand with these technologies, the main advice is to familiarize themselves with the most accessible tools, such as DALL-E 2 and Midjourney, and then see if the allowed level of customization is sufficient; if not, it is possible to turn to companies that specialize in AI transformation processes such as Orbyta Tech to receive support both in terms of training and the actual production of the images.