• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, November 2, 2023

Google has released a series of tools in the U.S. based on generative artificial intelligence (AI). One free tool in Product Studio gives marketers the ability to create product images with simple text prompts.

The tools also enables marketers to add small business attributes on Search and Google Maps, and show more helpful business information. Businesses on Maps and products in Search sold by businesses with that attribute will have a “small business” label on them.

Google believes the new labels will make it easier for shoppers to narrow searches and be intentional about shopping with favorite businesses.

The old saying, “let the buyer beware,” might now apply to the images consumers see online. The ability to generate product images with text-based prompts emerges as the real innovation in Google’s release, but copywrite issues remain, for the most part, unsettled, and the quality of Product Studio’s AI-generated images, unverified.

Google isn’t the only company with this type of tool. Adobe, Amazon, Microsoft and others have introduced something similar. And while all these companies look to integrate AI into products to make it faster to automate tasks and create ads, a report from dunnhumby, a consumer data science company, suggests only one in five U.S. consumers actually trust AI.

About 10,012 consumers were interviewed for a study mostly pertaining to grocery shopping, but much of the data applies to perception and behavior of products in general. The online data was fielded in April 2022, July 2022, November 2022, April 2023, and August 2023. Approximately 2,000 individuals were interviewed for each wave of the study.

Systems that identify out-of-stock products with support from AI could become one of the best uses of the tech for retailers. While backend systems that can link inventory to product availability exist, the report suggests using AI could make forecasts that much stronger. It would reduce product waste and ad budgets.

Out of all the customer needs mentions in the report, having the items in stock was the most important, with 81% of people rating this very or extremely important, up 2% from the last report dunnhumby conducted.

Only 13.1% of consumers say their intended purchases were out-of-stock in the last month, compared to 14.7% in the previous wave, and 15.9% this time last year.

When thinking about perishable items, 56% or those under 45 years old say it’s very or extremely important that a retailer cares about food waste and has sustainable products and packaging.

Loss of jobs, security and privacy, loss of human touch, technology in the wrong hands, and misinformation were the top five concerns respondents have about AI.

For consumers 55 and older, an age group that is otherwise distrusting or disinterested in AI, 40% cited security as the best use.

The most consistent differentiator in opinion toward AI is age, with a much higher 31% of consumers under the age of 45 “mostly” or “completely” trust the technology.

Only 20% of respondents overall “mostly” or “completely” trust AI. At the other extreme, one-third of all shoppers do not trust AI. There are sub-sets of consumers that trust AI more than others.

Overall, respondents cited the potential negative features of AI, compared with the benefits. While there were some mentions of AI improving the online shopping experience, and better personalization of offers and rewards, the data shows progress must be made for marketers to explain how and where AI is being used to offer better value and experiences to customers. The report states in the grocery category, but that is also the case in other online shopping categories.

Online makes it easier to shop around for products, and tools like Google’s image creator gives consumers a better picture of what they intend to buy.

The study also analyzed how AI influences or determines the price of products, and how it effects consumers. In the most recent set of consumer trend results, 73% of respondents said competitive pricing, the need to be less expensive than other retailers, was very or extremely important, up 4% from the previous dunnhumby report in April 2023.