AI has well and truly arrived, and it's making waves in e-commerce. This surge in adoption is reflected in market forecasts: by 2028, the retail sector alone is predicted to invest a staggering $24.1 billion in AI.
According to Capgemini’s, the top most relevant and useful AI platforms used among organisations are:
- Chatbots for automating customer service (83%)
- Tools for designing, collecting, and summarising data (75%)
- Tools for generating text (71%)
The latter two are particularly noteworthy as we explore the key AI features transforming product data to help e-commerce companies boost their bottom line.
AI is also fundamentally changing the way companies handle product data, bringing automation, personalisation, and advanced data analysis to the forefront.
This article explores how AI-powered Product Information Management (PIM) solution enables e-commerce businesses to process large volumes of data quickly, automate content creation and enrichment, streamline translations, and gain valuable insights into data quality.
6 Key Challenges AI and PIM Are Designed to Solve
For years, traditional PIM systems have been the standard for managing product information, offering a central repository for organising and distributing data. But as e-commerce changes faster than ever, on-premise PIM systems are increasingly falling short, creating challenges for those responsible for managing product content.
Let’s explore the business challenges that AI-powered PIM can address:
Challenge 1: Generating Product Descriptions
Manually crafting compelling, accurate, and SEO-friendly product descriptions at scale is difficult and time-consuming.
Product descriptions must go beyond listing features and highlighting benefits - they need to connect with the target audience, align with brand guidelines, and include relevant keywords.
Ensuring consistency in tone and style across an extensive product catalogue adds another layer of complexity. This is where generative AI can make a substantial impact.
Use the calculator below to discover how much you could save by using AI-powered PIM for product data enrichment.
Discover the cost difference between manual product data enrichment and AI-driven enrichment.
Number of products requiring description
Average Word Count per Product Description
Manual/Human Copywriting Cost per Word
Your Current Cost Estimation:
$ for human copywriting of words to create product descriptions.
You are just one step away from discovering how much you can save with AI in PIM!
The AI calculates costs based on the number of input and output tokens, with each token representing approximately four characters. The cost per token varies depending on the model used.
Basic GPT Model: Less powerful, lower cost, produces simpler or less detailed responses, and might be faster due to smaller size or fewer computations.
Advanced AI Model: More powerful, higher cost, produces higher-quality and more detailed responses, but could be slower because of increased computational complexity.
Pricing for AI models often decreases with each new release, making advanced processing more cost-effective over time.
Bluestone PIM AI Enrich estimation
Challenge 2: SKU Matching
Ensuring accurate matching of Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) across different systems (e.g., ERP, e-commerce platform, marketplaces) is crucial for inventory management, order fulfilment, and accurate product representation.
Discrepancies in SKU data can result in stockout, incorrect shipments, and unhappy customers. The challenge becomes even greater when managing product variations, such as size, colour, or material.
Challenge 3: Localising Product Content for International Markets
Simply translating words isn’t enough when selling internationally. Different cultures have distinct preferences, habits, and communication styles, and if your content doesn’t align with these, it can feel out of place - or even inappropriate.
That’s where content localisation comes in. It’s not just about translating text; it’s about adapting your tone, style, and even visuals to ensure your message genuinely connects.
Challenge 4: Maintaining Data Quality and Consistency
Today’s customers want it all – stunning images, engaging videos, and detailed user manuals. Keeping all that content organised, accessible, and up-to-date is no easy task. If your content doesn’t meet their expectations, you risk losing them to competitors who offer a more compelling experience.
Without the right tools and processes, keeping your content enriched and up-to-date can quickly become a significant obstacle, hindering your ability to deliver the seamless experience customers expect.
In this context, data cleansing and accuracy are essential.
Challenge 5: Product Categorisation and Classification
Product categorisation and classification play a crucial role in helping customers find what they need quickly.
However, getting it right is no easy feat. With thousands of items and countless attributes to consider - like size, colour, material, or function - structuring products in an intuitive way can be a major challenge.
Effective product taxonomy is key.
Challenge 6: Managing Multiple Sales Channels
Selling products across multiple online and offline channels (e.g., e-commerce platforms, marketplaces, retail stores) adds complexity to product data management.
Each channel may have specific requirements for product data, formatting, and imagery. Managing and distributing content efficiently across these diverse channels is a significant challenge that requires robust data management.
Why You Should Integrate AI into your PIM Solution
Overcoming these challenges demands a blend of the right technology, such as an AI-powered PIM system with digital asset management (DAM) capabilities, well-defined processes, and skilled team members.
Integrating AI into PIM transforms how businesses manage product data. AI-driven systems like Bluestone PIM automate repetitive tasks, improve data accuracy, and provide the scalability needed for modern operations.
Here’s what your company can achieve by partnering with Bluestone PIM, the AI-powered PIM:
With all product data available in the PIM solution, you can leverage AI to generate texts, descriptions, images and translations for usage in all sales channels instead of placing an AI generator in each publication tool such as the CMS. As such, you’ll benefit from consistent product marketing messages as well as accelerated time to market for new products.
Ulrik Lilius, Senior Business Advisor at Avensia
Integrating Product Information Management system with AI features unlocks significant advantages like:
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Eliminating human errors: AI-driven PIM algorithms automatically identify and correct data inconsistencies, ensuring exceptional accuracy and consistency.
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Saving time: AI-powered automation significantly streamlines the time-consuming process of content updates and channel-specific formatting, boosting efficiency in both data entry and analysis.
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Scaling multilingual operations: advanced natural language processing (NLP) models enable seamless translation and localisation, maintaining brand consistency across regions.
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Adapting to channel requirements: AI features can reformat product data to meet the unique specifications of each platform, optimising content for visibility and sales.
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Saving money: by reducing manual labour, minimising errors, and streamlining operations, AI lowers operational costs and improves overall efficiency.
Discover expert-backed tips to boost your ROI with a successful PIM system implementation:
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Bluestone PIM and its AI Features for Smarter Product Management
Is your digital commerce software limiting your strategy and draining resources?
Bluestone PIM, built on the principles of MACH architecture, offers an alternative.
Create a composable, scalable, and open technology stack with advanced AI features like AI Enrich, AI Analyst, and AI Linguist, to help you tackle the challenges of today's market.
Watch our video for a quick overview of the AI features in Bluestone PIM.
AI Enrich: Automate Product Content Creation
Imagine descriptions and attributes written automatically, perfectly aligned with your brand. AI Enrich does this, reducing workloads and ensuring consistency.
This advanced feature uses generative AI models to automate copywriting in multiple languages, generate engaging content, and identify key attributes like colour, style, and product type directly from images.
By blending image analysis with brand-aligned content creation, AI Enrich delivers more engaging product descriptions across all channels while improving search engine visibility with keyword-rich content.
Features Overview
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Generate descriptions: automatically craft and refine product descriptions by analysing existing labels and attributes, ensuring accuracy, relevance, and consistency while minimising manual effort.
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Image analysis: extract key attributes such as color, size, and style directly from product images to enhance product data.
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Customisable AI: use predefined templates or create your own instructions to ensure the content aligns with your brand’s tone, style, and target audience.
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Human oversight: incorporates a manual review layer to guarantee quality, accuracy, and alignment with business requirements before content goes live.
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Automatic application: instantly apply enriched descriptions and attributes to selected products, streamlining updates.
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Bulk operations: perform operations on single or multiple products in one run, applying results across all selected items.
Business Outcomes
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Reduces labor costs and operational expenses.
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Speeds up product readiness for quicker market introductions.
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Enhances search rankings with keyword-rich content, making products more visible.
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Boosts customer engagement and sales with high-quality product data.
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Builds trust with brand-aligned, comprehensive product information.
Curious how a building industry leader turned product data struggles into strengths, boosted efficiency, and wowed their customers? See how Bluestone PIM’s AI-driven approach made it happen.
AI Linguist: Manage Multilingual Product Content
Entering a new market is daunting without the right tools. AI Linguist simplifies translations, ensuring your brand’s voice is consistent across languages.
Struggling to deliver consistent product information across multiple languages? Meet AI Linguist from Bluestone PIM - your partner in efficient, precise multilingual content management.
By automating translations, improving text quality, and correcting errors, AI Linguist ensures that your product information resonates consistently across global markets. With guided prompts and human oversight, it saves time, cuts costs, and helps you achieve faster market readiness.
Features Overview
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Text translation: seamlessly translates content across multiple languages, preserving context, meaning, and tone.
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Improvements: automatically enhance grammar, style, and tone to align with your brand’s voice.
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Check spelling: detect and correct spelling errors with precision, resulting in polished, error-free content.
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Custom instructions: guide the AI with specific instructions for tailored results.
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Multiple AI models: handle diverse linguistic tasks with optimised performance for varying needs.
See the real cost of manual product data translation. Discover how AI-powered PIM can cut expense.
Number of Products/SKUs Requiring Translation
Average Word Count per Product Description
Number of Languages
Manual/Human Translation Cost per Word
Your Current Cost Estimation:
$ for human translation of words required for product descriptions in languages.
You are just one step away from discovering how much you can save with AI in PIM!
The AI calculates costs based on the number of input and output tokens, with each token representing approximately four characters. The cost per token varies depending on the model used.
Basic GPT Model: Less powerful, lower cost, produces simpler or less detailed responses, and might be faster due to smaller size or fewer computations.
Advanced AI Model: More powerful, higher cost, produces higher-quality and more detailed responses, but could be slower because of increased computational complexity.
Pricing for AI models often decreases with each new release, making advanced processing more cost-effective over time.
Bluestone PIM AI Linguist Estimation
Business Outcomes
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Expands global reach with localised content.
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Reduces costs associated with manual translations.
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Accelerates delivery of multilingual content.
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Maintains accurate, on-brand messaging across languages.
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Strengthens global brand identity.
Want to learn more? Read the full story to see how the AI-driven PIM system accelerated growth and unlocked new opportunities for the leading Nordic sports retailer.
AI Analyst: Cleaning and Optimising Product Data
Picture your database free of errors and outdated entries. AI Analyst ensures your data is always clean and optimised.
Tired of messy, inconsistent product data holding you back? Meet AI Analyst, the brand-new feature from Bluestone PIM that transforms your product information into a powerhouse of accuracy and impact.
Whether it’s assigning products to appropriate categories or flagging unassigned entries, AI Analyst ensures your catalog is structured and precise. AI Analyst delivers cleaner data, enhances customer trust and streamlines operations.
Features Overview
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AI-powered data quality analysis: evaluates product data for incorrect or missing attributes, descriptions, and categories.
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Actionable insights with reliability scoring: delivers detailed reports with recommendations for improvement, rated for reliability on a 1-to-10 scale.
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Automated corrections with human-centric control: allows users to review and approve improvements.
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Multi-context analysis: supports multiple languages to ensure data readiness across markets.
Business Outcomes
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Improves data accuracy and consistency across all products.
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Reduces manual effort, cutting operational costs and time-to-market.
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Increases revenue by enhancing SEO performance and conversion rates.
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Builds trust with consistent, reliable product information.
The Future of PIM with AI
The future of product information management lies in AI. Imagine a world where your team spends less time wrestling with data and more time innovating.
With AI-powered Bluestone PIM, you can automate tedious processes like translations, content creation, and data analysis, making it easier to scale your business without compromising on accuracy or quality. This means you can adapt quickly to changing search trends, maintain a consistent brand message across every sales channel, and provide your customers with a better shopping experience.
Ready to transform how you manage product information? Contact us today to explore our AI-driven solutions or book a demo to see them in action.
