eBay Launches Generative AI Video Tool For YouTube & TikTok Social Sharing
As part of today's May Seller Update, eBay is introducing a new generative AI tool to turn item images into YouTube & TikTok ready videos for social sharing.
Here's what eBay says about the new tool:
Elevate engagement with video content
Not a video expert? You can still make dynamic video content to boost your engagement and listing visibility. Starting this April, transform your listing photos into professional-quality videos in minutes using eBay.ai.
Simply upload your photos and with the click of a button, our new tool will create professional quality content to help you showcase your listings via social media. After you view your video, upload it to Tiktok or Youtube directly from your eBay account. It’s that simple.
Benefits for your business
This exciting generative-AI video tool unlocks capabilities sellers like you have never had access to before.Create videos effortlessly - Generate and upload content easily and quickly.Increase your visibility - Get more eyes on your listings beyond eBay by expanding your reach to Youtube and Tiktok.Save time with AI innovations- It only takes up to 3 minutes to generate your video.Expand your reach on social media -Regularly share content to strengthen your brand’s online presence.
Next steps
This tool is already available to you in your Seller Hub. Once you get started, consider sharing your listings on social platforms to expand your reach, build brand recognition, and establish yourself as a trustworthy seller.
How Does It Work?
You'll find this new feature in Seller Hub under Marketing>Social where you can connect your eBay account to your YouTube and/or TikTok account if you haven't done so already.
Then just click "create post", select the video platform you want to post to, and click Create A Video With Photos.
eBay offers two templates to choose from - lighting effect (which applies a lighting/shadow filter over your static images to create a slight illusion of movement) or product showcase (which is basically just a slideshow of your static product images).
The wording used in these templates is not at all appealing or optimized to attract buyer attention - "Top pick from my listings" isn't exactly a strong call to action and neither is "Discover the best! Visit our product listing today!" - but unfortunately there does not appear to be any way to edit that text.
Once you select the item or items you want to feature, eBay tells you it will take an agonizingly long 3 minutes for their AI to create a 15 second video clip.
It would be interesting to see a calculation for the electricity and water usage that represents and how eBay squares that with their ESG sustainability initiatives.
And after that 3 minutes finally passed....I got an error message saying to try again.
It did finally work on the second try, eventually producing exactly what you would expect from those templates - a slideshow of product images with the product name and store name automatically filled in and absolutely terrible ad copy that isn't likely to drive additional traffic to your listings.
And apparently I'm not the only one receiving that error or wondering why on earth anyone would actually use this tool even if it works.
YouTuber Justin Resells took it for a spin and had much the same experience.
Chalk this on up as yet another AI feature nobody asked for that isn't ready for primetime and doesn't live up to the hype.
Rather than stuffing more AI into every part of the user experience, I bet most sellers would rather have that discounted Final Value Fee social sharing incentive that was promised in 2021 and never delivered.
Liz Morton
What do you think of eBay generative AI video for social sharing? Let us know in the comments below!
