Four years ago, eBay
rolled out image-based search that shoppers could use to look for products. Back
then, it was the first to deploy computer vision technology in the field of
e-commerce. Since then, it has been constantly improving and now, it is
focusing on bringing this tech for merchants on its platform.
This innovation was revealed at VentureBeat’s Transform 2021
virtual conference. There, its new chief of artificial
intelligence officer Nitzan Mekel-Bobrov discussed the new system that will
be deployed by the marketplace. He elaborated on the challenges of building the
image-based search technology, the essential elements of any AI strategy, and
what the future holds for computer vision.
What is image-based search technology? This solution
offers shoppers the opportunity to look for similar or exact items using
pictures instead of words. While it has become standard in the industry now, in
2017, it was a pretty big deal. One of the biggest hurdles was related to data,
especially considering the fact that eBay
has a huge number of products on offer on its marketplace. Moreover, the way
that sellers photographed their items added to this issue. Another problem was
hardware. Thus, the e-commerce giant had to find creative solutions to solve
these problems.
Photo credit: Simon from Pixabay
Computer vision helps buyers on eBay
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