Fake AI ads are ruining the online shopping experience
When we shop online, we just want to know that what we’re seeing is what we’ll get. AI could help us make smarter decisions – or turn us away from buying entirely.
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When a business leans too heavily on AI-generated marketing content, shoppers may begin to see it not as innovative, but untrustworthy, says the writer.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
Nicole Chan
If scrolling through social media and online shopping platforms lately has you feeling like you’ve wandered into the uncanny valley – or worse, been “catfished” into buying something that turns out to be very different from what you thought you were getting – you’re not alone.
Some sellers on Shopee and TikTok Shop recently found AI-generated videos promoting their products with warped book covers, calendars shown at wildly incorrect sizes and, in one particularly bizarre case, a novel about generational trauma and abuse being marketed as a “fun” and “wholesome adventure” for children.