A few weeks ago, Tobi Lutke, the CEO of Shopify took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the launch of Sidekick, a conversational AI assistant trained to understand all of Shopify. In the simplest of terms, Sidekick can be considered as an eCommerce-tuned version of ChatGPT.
This move by Shopify reiterated what we already know - Generative AI is everywhere.
Ever since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, every major tech brand has been looking at integrating some sort of AI functionality into their products. There has been a surge of enthusiasm around large language models and their potential to reinvent the way businesses perform key functions.
Alongside writing assistants and text generators, we are witnessing hype around text-to-image generators as well, which can be particularly beneficial for eCommerce sellers and retailers.
By understanding AI image generators and incorporating them into your existing workflows, you can save time and enhance business efficiency.
However, the hype around AI image generators is also its biggest challenge. With dozens of AI tools being launched every week, it can be overwhelming for sellers and retailers to keep track of this transformational technology.
So, to make your job easier and help you cut through the noise, we have created this definitive guide. Here we not only delve into the fundamentals of AI image generators but also talk in detail about the top 10 AI image generators that hold great potential for eCommerce sellers.
By the end of this guide, you'll have a fair idea of which AI image generators align best with your eCommerce business.
Let’s get started.
AI image generators, also known as text-to-image generators, are tools that can create images from scratch based solely on a set of text instructions. These AI-powered tools take a text prompt, process it, and create an image that best matches the description given in the prompt.
AI image generators are trained on a large amount of data, image datasets, and corresponding descriptions through which the algorithm learns different aspects and characteristics of images. As a result, they become capable of generating new images similar in style to those in the training data. Therefore, when given a text input (prompt), these can generate photos, illustrations, concepts, landscapes, characters, objects, 3D models, or anything else that one can think of.
All you need to do is type what you want and it delivers the image to you within seconds - like magic.
What makes AI image generators particularly remarkable is their ability to fuse styles, concepts, and attributes to create contextually relevant imagery. AI image generators are also capable of generating original, hyper-realistic photos. Chances are that if you’ve come across a strikingly accurate, true-to-life image on the internet, it was created using an AI image generator.
As discussed earlier, AI image generators work by using machine learning algorithms to generate new images as per the input parameters.
The final output relies heavily on the dataset of images that the tool has been trained on. Ideally, this dataset should be diverse and representative.
The AI image generator then uses the algorithms to learn from the patterns, features, and descriptions present in the dataset. The neural networks identify and extract specific features like shapes, textures, and colors.
Once trained, the AI image generator can create new images based on a set of input parameters. The machine learning algorithms combine and manipulate the features learned during training to create a new image. This entire process can be repeated multiple times to create variations of the image or refine the initial image.
Over time, a few different kinds of AI image generators have come to the fore, with each having its own distinct capabilities.
Among these, the most notable are the image generators that use neural style transfer technique which enables the imposition of one image’s style onto another.
There are also Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) that employ a duo of neural networks to train to produce realistic images resembling the ones in the training dataset.
These two neural networks are pitted against each other. One network, the generator, creates images, while the other network, the discriminator, determines whether or not the images are real or produced by the generator.
Most initial iterations of AI image generators relied on GANs. However, these days, AI image generators are moving towards diffusion models.
The diffusion models generate images through a process simulating the diffusion of particles, progressively transforming noise into structured images.
The text-to-image generation technology is still in its infancy. Therefore, unlike mature technologies like GPS where the end users can easily use the tech without any prior knowledge, to get the best out of AI image generators, you need to use the right prompts/text instructions.
The quality of the output images is directly influenced by the quality of the text prompts given by the user.
Hence, to write good prompts, you need to be aware of a few best practices that ensure the best output possible. Here are a few tips to help you:
Source: Hootsuite
you can say "I want an illustration of a red owl with bright blue eyes in the style of abstract expressionism with volumetric lighting".
Check out the images below to see the difference it makes.
Source: Hootsuite
Need some ideas for text prompts? Here are 15 interesting AI prompts that you can try out:
Feel free to play around and modify these prompts and use them to spark your creativity.
A few years ago, no one could have imagined that a high-quality painting, a realistic photograph, or an illustration could be created within a few seconds, just by typing in a few words. So, the benefits of using AI image generators are there for everyone to see.
AI image generators can revolutionize visual content creation. Here are some benefits/key reasons why more businesses should look at using AI image generators:
Let’s now look at the 10 best AI image generators that you can use in 2024. We’ll also examine each in detail to help you make an informed decision.
It speaks a lot about the capabilities of an AI image generator when the images produced by it win awards at fine arts competitions.
Within a short time span and amidst a barrage of AI image generators that are being launched every week, Midjourney has managed to push itself ahead of the pack to cement its reputation as the best AI image generator capable of generating the most visually stunning results.
It consistently produces some of the best-looking AI images with better textures, colors, and overall visual appeal.
Midjourney particularly excels when creating people and real-world objects as it can create more lifelike and natural images than any other AI image generator out there. The tool also requires fewer prompts than its competitors.
One can also find a full gallery of pre-created designs on the website to get inspiration.
However, the biggest challenge with Midjourney is the absence of wider access. The tool is still in beta mode and is only accessible through Discord.
Moreover, its free trials were recently suspended because of an overwhelming number of people trying to use it.
DALL·E 2 is the first name that comes to mind when we talk about AI image generators. That's because it was the first AI image generator to be launched.
Released by OpenAI, the organization behind the viral sensation ChatGPT, DALL·E 2 is arguably the blueprint for all AI image generators that flooded the market.
One of the best things that DALL·E 2 has going for it is its incredible ease of use. Just type in the prompt and click Generate and within a few seconds, you'll have four AI-generated variations to choose from.
The image editor (still in Beta) also enables users to add additional generated frames.
Its web version is very intuitive and produces results within seconds. In addition to the web app, OpenAI also offers an API for developers to build apps integrating DALL·E 2.
When it comes to the credits, it can be a bit tricky because those who registered before 6 April 2024 are eligible to keep the original terms where 15 free credits are added at the end of each month. For those users who registered after 6th April, they need to buy a minimum of 115 credits for $15.
However, keep in mind that Bing Image Generator by Microsoft has integrated DALL·E 2 and is a free alternative that works just as well.
Source: DreamStudio
Stability AI created an open-source image generator called Stable Diffusion that became massively popular.
Being open-source, anyone with the required technical skills can download it and run it locally on their device. This effectively means that users can train and fine-tune the model for their specific use cases.
Today, many AI image generators available in the market are based on Stable Diffusion.
So, to make the technology readily available, Stability AI created DreamStudio which is based on the latest version of Stable Diffusion.
DreamStudio has an easy-to-use interface that makes it convenient for anyone to design high-quality images.
DreamStudio also gives users a huge amount of control over the various aspects of an AI image. There are sliders that help you determine how large the final image is, how closely it matches the input prompt, how many images are to be generated, what version of the algorithm to use, etc. This ensures a greater level of customization and control.
All in all, DreamStudio or Stable Diffusion gives users great control over the AI image generation process, even allowing them to build their own AI services.
Like others in this list, DreamStudio works on a credit system. Users get 25 free credits after signing up.
As we discussed earlier, Midjourney has pretty much established itself as the best AI image generator in the market. However, a tool that comes the closest to being a strong contender to Midjourney is Leonardo AI.
While Leonardo AI states itself as a visual asset generator, it's actually a lot more than that. With its large array of features, it offers a full-stack AI image generation experience providing outpainting, inpainting, model training, canvas editing, and more.
The tool offers a stunning user interface that is exciting and engaging but can be overwhelming for first-time users.
Leonardo also offers features like resolution increase, contrast boost, and detail enhancement.
As for the pricing, Leonardo AI has a free tier with a daily quota of tokens. Additionally, there are paid subscription plans that start at $12 per month.
Adobe has been a market leader for years in the visual content creation space through products like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premier Pro, Illustrator, and so on.
However, to further cement its position as a market leader, Adobe also jumped on the generative AI bandwagon and released Firefly - its text-to-image generator that integrates with Adobe Photoshop.
You can check out the tool through Adobe Express or by using Photoshop through a Creative Cloud subscription.
Adobe's AI model, Firefly, can not only generate new images but also recolor images and add AI-generated elements to your images.
That said, at times, Firefly's results can be hit-and-miss. It can, at times, match DALL·E 2 or Stable Diffusion but in other cases doesn't fare well as compared to market leaders like Midjourney.
One of the biggest points that works in the favor of Firefly is that it integrates with Photoshop. This means professional designers who already rely on Photoshop as their daily driver can leverage the capabilities of generative AI and enhance their outputs even further.
The idea is that people can keep using Photoshop's regular tools and then just by typing a prompt, they can replace a part of an image or add additional elements to it.
This is its strongest suit in the sense that in the near future, people will still want to use their existing tools without abandoning them completely for an AI image generator.
NightCafe is one of the most popular AI image generators available in the market today. What makes NightCafe unique is its vibrant community of millions of AI art enthusiasts who publish creations and engage with others on a daily basis.
There are AI art chat rooms and daily contests for creators to participate in. Users can share ideas, find inspiration, and even earn extra credits by participating in the community.
What's also unique about NightCafe is that it can be used to generate art in different ways. Once you enter the prompt and click on the 'Create' button, you can choose an algorithm you want to use. It offers multiple state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms like Stable Diffusion, DALL·E 2, Neural Style Transfer, VQGAN+CLIP, CLIP Guided Diffusion, and more.
The tool is available to use on the web and can also be installed on mobile devices.
The generator also has some unique features like multiple style images, multiple prompts, bulk creation, bulk download, custom seeds, and more.
NightCafe is free to use and allows generating unlimited base Stable Diffusion creations which are thumb resolution images. For accessing higher resolution or photorealistic images, users can buy credits in paid plans that start at $5.99 per month.
Jasper.AI is a company best known for its wonderful AI writing tools. However, it has also ventured into AI image generation through Jasper Art.
The biggest highlight of Jasper Art is that it can create pictures for you alongside the AI writer that produces the copy, ensuring a perfect contextual match for both the copy and the images.
The tool is also easy to use for beginners. After entering the prompt, you can select style, medium options, mood, artist inspiration, keywords, etc. The tool then produces four AI images to choose from.
The created images can also be uploaded directly to social media.
Jasper has a free trial that lasts 7 days. After that, it costs $20 per month per user.
Photosonic is a popular web-based AI image generator that lets users create images, digital art, or illustrations using a powerful text-to-image AI model. The tool allows you to control the style, quality, and diversity of generated images by modifying the description.
Additionally, Photosonic allows users to add text annotations and filters to existing images to help improve or modify them.
Similar to Jasper, Photosonic is also from a company (Writesonic) known for its AI writing tool. So, the image tool, Photosonic, comes as an add-on when you subscribe to Writesonic.
It is available as a freemium tool but with limited features. You can upgrade to paid plans starting at $20 ($16 if paid annually) which also gives users access to improved features like higher-quality image generation and upscaling.
Formerly called DALL·E mini, Craiyon was developed by researchers at Google and Hugging Face. Despite having the name DALL·E mini, it must be noted that this AI image generator is not affiliated with OpenAI or DALL·E 2. It’s simply based on the older version of DALL·E, hence the name.
What stands out for Craiyon is that it's not only completely free but also doesn't require any sign-up to use its service. Users can simply type a text description and it will generate 9 different images.
The biggest drawback of Craiyon is that it lacks a bit of quality. The output images can be distorted at times. It is also slower in generating images.
Lexica Art is one of the earliest AI image generators that was released alongside Midjourney.
The good thing is that it is still one of the best AI image generators in the market while also being one of the easiest to get started with. One can create an account and start generating images within a minute.
The user experience and the user interface are some of the biggest highlights of Lexica. Its overall image quality is also better than many image generators available today.
However, the biggest problem with Lexica is the limit of their proprietary AI art models. Additionally, all its images have saturated colors which might not be liked by everyone.
We are sure this detailed comparison will help you make up your mind on which AI image generator is the right option for you.
Now, let's talk about how these image generators can be helpful for you. Let's explore the various use cases of AI image generators in eCommerce and discuss their applications across various touchpoints.
AI image generators, while remarkably advanced, are not entirely self-sufficient. This clip from X (Twitter) shares an interesting conversation between two Amazon sellers who are talking about whether AI can help generate real product images.
One of the sellers goes on to say that while it’s possible to generate high-quality product images for catalog listing using AI tools, you do need a human touch to make the images “a little more genuine and more relatable”.
While images for social media could do without any human involvement, for eCommerce product images, you need human involvement and touch-ups.
Since AI image generators eliminate the need for human involvement, it can be advantageous in terms of efficiency. However, having no immediate human feedback or decision-making has a negative impact on the overall quality of the images delivered. There are also missed opportunities to adjust the images based on real-time considerations or artistic judgments.
The human element thus remains paramount in ensuring that the final product images are of the highest quality possible. To elevate the overall shopping experience for customers, it’s important to have a fusion of AI technology and human experience.
In a world buzzing with generative AI, DoMyShoot Premium can be a game changer. It stands at the intersection of product photography and cutting-edge generative AI, offering an unparalleled blend of creative control and technological innovation.
For years, DoMyShoot has been a revolutionary AI-powered product photography app solution, enabling sellers to create high-quality product images without having to rely on hiring a professional photographer or photography studio. Thanks to its proprietary technology, DoMyShoot has been a leader in eCommerce product photography.
Now, with the release of DoMyShoot Premium, the team has introduced a suite of generative AI features that empower sellers to gain access to a spectrum of possibilities:
DoMyShoot Premium allows you to embrace the power of generative AI while retaining a human touch to have some creative authority over your visuals.
Whether you're an eCommerce novice or an experienced seller, DoMyShoot Premium offers a dynamic edge that resonates with both your artistic aspirations and practical needs.
To explore how DoMyShoot can help your eCommerce business or to book a personalized demo, feel free to get in touch with us.
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