Unsurprisingly, AI was a major focus at the Webwinkel Vakdagen 2024. This is evident from the numerous presentations devoted to the topic. It’s no surprise that AI has quickly found its way into the toolboxes of marketers, operations managers, supply chain managers, and many others. However, the way AI is used varies greatly between companies.
At the event, speakers eagerly shared their perspectives on AI, and given that the Webwinkel Vakdagen is largely centered around sharing knowledge, the Jaarbeurs on January 23 and 24 was the perfect venue for these discussions.
AI and content creation
One significant use of AI in e-commerce is for content creation. We’ve all seen AI-generated images, like the viral one of the pope wearing a trendy jacket. While such images highlight AI's power as a fun tool, the technology also holds immense potential for marketing purposes. In her talk How Princess uses AI for content creation, Princess’ marketing manager, Monique van Zundert, gave an insight into her AI toolkit.
Her message was clear from the start: "You can do a lot with it," Van Zundert told a packed room in Lecture Hall 8. “From translating a letter to a supplier in China to generating complete marketing texts and computer-generated images. However, it’s crucial to have someone on your team who understands how to prompt—how to give the AI program the right instructions. We have our own promptmaster internally for this."
Willem-Alexander with an airfryer
Van Zundert and her team use AI for various content creation needs. She lists the most important ones within her field-content creation. "For example, for our recipe website, we can very easily create images of dishes. You can also generate images of homes, kitchens and landscapes very easily. Are we looking for a new kitchen appliance and would like design inspiration? That too is possible with AI."
While AI has been a game-changer for her team, Van Zundert also warned about the technology’s limitations. She shared an image based on a prompt asking for King Willem-Alexander using an airfryer, but the result looked suspiciously like former U.S. president Donald Trump.
Not exactly the intention, nor an exception, Van Zundert says. "AI still has trouble generating people, especially multiple people in one image is difficult. Although the technology is advancing at lightning speed and new versions are flying around your ears, so to speak, it is not a miracle solution. There will always have to be a human marketer at the base. I compare it to a chef in a Michelin restaurant. He has all kinds of tools in his kitchen that he can use to create the perfect dish. And I think today's content marketers have the same challenges."
Other AI applications
That AI is here to stay is beyond question, and many presentations at the event covered this topic. AI goes far beyond generating text or images. For example, Fitwinkel was able to reduce its inventory by 40% in six months thanks to smart use of AI forecasting. In their presentation, AI for Marketers: Revolutionize Your Online Marketing with AI, Rick and Remco Zuidbroek from the marketing agency Doublesmart discussed the do's and don’ts of using this versatile technology.
The fact that AI is both widely used and still stirs the imagination was evident from the high turnout for sessions dedicated to the topic. Often, the rooms were filled to capacity. Which new AI applications will emerge in the e-commerce world over the next year remains to be seen. But one prediction seems certain: artificial intelligence will once again be a key theme at the next edition of the Webwinkel Vakdagen.
The next edition of the Webwinkel Vakdagen will take place on Wednesday 2 and Thursday 3 April 2025.
