Sora is setting off another AI boom. Are Amazon sellers going to take off?

OpenAI launches video generation model "Sora", a big benefit for Amazon sellers?

Recently, many cross-border sellers have noticed that the American artificial intelligence research company OpenAI launched a "king-bomb-level" tool at the beginning of the year , the video generation model " Sora " . This tool was officially released to the public on February 15, 2024 (local time in the United States).

It is understood that Sora can generate a 60-second coherent video based on the prompt words entered by the user, which directly "crushes" the industry's current average video generation length of only about "4 seconds".

In fact, before Sora, large technology companies including ByteDance and Google have tried to enter this field with their own models, but none of them have been able to break away from the limitations of Wensheng videos with a single output perspective and short duration.

In contrast, Sora's demonstration video directly raised the video generation model to another dimension, which not only dropped a "blockbuster bomb" on the technology industry, but also allowed many cross-border practitioners to see more possibilities in the future.

As one of the important application scenarios of AI technology, the cross-border e-commerce industry may also usher in major changes with the arrival of Sora.

Previously, OpenAI's new chatbot model ChatGPT was launched, and the number of users exceeded 1 million in just 5 days after its launch. At that time, many cross-border practitioners followed suit, and many cross-border companies widely used ChatGPT in multiple business scenarios, effectively reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

Data shows that in 2023, 33% of cross-border companies are using ChatGPT, and nearly 15% of companies plan to put it into use.

For cross-border sellers, Sora is expected to reduce the pressure of shooting product videos. Some sellers said that if they use conventional shooting methods to shoot products, the process is very complicated, time-consuming and laborious.

However, with the help of Sora, you can generate a 60-second high-definition product video by simply entering text commands, which is undoubtedly a powerful operational assistant for sellers.

On the other hand, cross-border brands can also use Sora to generate high-quality video content and then publish it on short video platforms such as TikTok, which can quickly expand the brand's coverage and increase brand exposure.

However, some sellers have pointed out that although it seems feasible to make product videos for use on major cross-border e-commerce platforms, it is still unknown whether the platforms will detect that they are made by AI and ultimately be restricted.

Previously, AI-generated texts were identified by Amazon as “AI content,” so some sellers believe that videos generated using Sora also run the risk of being identified as AI videos or false content.

Amazon launches video post feature, Sora may show its strength

Just recently, Amazon officially announced the update of the platform post tool and launched the short video function: you can post a 9:16 vertical short video within 60 seconds in the post , including a short title, and the displayed products will be fixed at the bottom of the screen.

Currently, this feature is available on the US site.

With the launch of this feature, Amazon sellers can build their brand image by publishing more video posts to convey more information to shoppers.

Industry insiders believe that this feature has the same social attribute of "watch and buy" as TikTok short videos. Shoppers can place orders directly through video posts, which can help sellers effectively improve conversion rates to a certain extent.

Therefore, a large number of Amazon sellers will definitely compete for this new traffic source, and the key undoubtedly lies in the production of product videos, which also happens to fit Sora's video generation function.

AI tools continue to gain importance for Amazon sellers

Over the past year, the penetration rate of artificial intelligence in cross-border e-commerce has been increasing.

In 2023, the chatbot ChatGPT launched by OpenAI became popular on the entire Internet in a short period of time, and a large number of cross-border sellers used it in actual operations, including writing emails, optimizing listings, after-sales services, etc.

Some sellers believe that cross-border e-commerce nowadays requires more skillful and refined operations. Sellers who are good at using various AI tools will definitely be ahead, and sellers who cannot use AI will most likely be eliminated by the times.

In addition to external tools, Amazon, as a leader in the e-commerce industry, has also launched many of its own AI tools for sellers .

In April 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy published a shareholder letter stating that Amazon is investing heavily in large language models and generative AI, and pointed out that this will be the core of Amazon's innovation in all businesses and fields in the coming decades.

In the past year, Amazon has continuously improved users' shopping experience and conversion rates by using AI technologies such as recommendation systems, voice assistants, and image searches, and has launched a series of new products and services.

In August 2023, Amazon officially announced the launch of a product review summary feature based on generative AI. Using AI to summarize reviews can not only identify common review topics, but also provide a concise summary on the product detail page, highlighting some product attributes, such as performance, ease of use, and stability.

According to Marketplace Pulse, Amazon was also testing a generative AI tool for intelligent customer service. By summarizing product reviews and key information on listings through big data, it would prompt users to ask questions about specific products.

As recently as January 2024, Amazon announced that it was testing a generative AI assistant called Rufus, a tool designed to help users search and purchase products.

However, although its functions are very powerful, AI tools, as an emerging function, can also cause trouble for many sellers.

AI "cause trouble" incidents frequently occur, and sellers say they can't stand it

It is understood that at the beginning of this year, some sellers discovered that the titles of their links were inexplicably modified by Amazon, followed by a sharp drop in traffic and order volume.

According to the seller, when he first discovered that the title had been modified, he thought it was because the product was being copied by sellers on other sites, but after a thorough investigation, he could not find any clues of copy-selling.

Finally, I submitted a title modification through the help page, only to find out that Amazon had used its AI function to change my title.

After this incident was exposed, it quickly caused heated discussions among sellers. Many sellers said that they had encountered similar situations and their order volume was greatly affected.

Although the modifications were made by Amazon’s AI function, sellers reported that the modified titles only met Amazon’s requirements but did not comply with the platform’s algorithm, which would seriously affect the weight of the listing.

It can be seen that the widespread application of AI may be a double-edged sword. While it facilitates sellers, it may also bring a lot of trouble. As the latest research result in the field of AI, Sora may bring about an impact that no one can predict.

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