How Small Brands Are Learning to Love AI

"Generative AI is fashion's biggest opportunity - and its most divisive. Startups, tech giants and everything in between are rolling out AI-enabled features meant to help fashion brands boost their businesses. Meta and TikTok, for instance, both offer AI-powered ad-targeting and content generation, while Shopify's AI features can swap out homepage displays and generate product descriptions. Using it in marketing is a more contentious choice,but brands like Coach, Zalando and Revolve have been able to do so without attracting much ire."

"Smaller brands can more easily integrate new tools without the red tape that stifles large companies' decision making. At the same time, the most advanced tools, such as AI agents that can automatically replenish inventory, are out of reach for companies with less robust budgets. And a smaller brand usually relies on more of a human touch as they build their brand - there's a fear that relying too heavily on AI will reduce their control and force their creative muscles to atrophy."

Generative AI is being deployed across the fashion industry by startups, tech giants and platforms to boost ad-targeting, content generation and product presentation. Major platforms like Meta, TikTok and Shopify provide AI tools for marketing, homepage personalization and product descriptions. Larger brands draw most headlines, but brands under $100 million face different stakes: faster integration without red tape, limited budgets for advanced automation, and reliance on human creativity. Founders fear homogenization, loss of control and weakened creative skills if AI is overused, yet also worry about falling behind without some AI adoption. Small brands are experimenting with bespoke AI approaches for design and marketing.

Read at The Business of Fashion