A picture is still worth more than a thousand words, especially in e-commerce. On average, consumers take just 50 milliseconds to form a first impression about an online product, according to Google research data. With the popularization of AI-powered photo editing tools, Brazilian sellers have found more affordable and efficient alternatives to showcase their products online, without relying on professional photo shoots, which are often expensive and time-consuming.
Instead of setting up studios, hiring photographers, or renting locations, merchants selling on Mercado Livre, Shopee, Elo7, Instagram Shopping, or platforms like Nuvemshop and Shopify have adopted AI-generated images to simulate realistic contexts. A handmade cushion can appear in a modern living room; a natural cosmetic product on a well-lit bathroom counter; a handmade mug in the hands of a model at a breakfast table. All done digitally, based on a single simple product photo, usually taken with a smartphone.
The feature, known as AI product staging, uses algorithms to position products in settings that mimic reality, automatically adjusting lighting, shadows, perspective, scale, and color temperature. Unlike digital mockups or traditional composites, current tools have been trained to understand both the object and the environment, resulting in images that appear to have been produced in real photo sessions.
“In the past, creating good lifestyle images required an entire production: location, casting, photographer, art direction, and editing. This is expensive and time-consuming, a luxury most sellers simply don’t have,” explains Matt Rouif, CEO of Photoroom, an AI-powered image editing startup. “Today, in just a few minutes, it’s possible to generate a library of realistic, professional-quality photos.”
The proposal is simple: with a clean product image, merchants can generate dozens of contextual variations for different channels. Beyond product pages, these images are used in email campaigns, social media, paid ads, and virtual showcases. Visual flexibility also allows adapting assets for different audiences—for example, positioning the same sneaker on a sports trail or in an urban setting, depending on the campaign profile.
For many Brazilian merchants, especially those operating alone or with lean teams, this technology has become a competitive advantage. “The costs for a full photo session with location, photographers, models, and editing can easily exceed R$5,000. It’s impractical to repeat this process for every new launch or promotional campaign. With AI, we solve this in minutes, with a symbolic investment,” says Matt.
More than a practical solution, contextualized images play a strategic role by compensating for the lack of physical contact with the product during the online shopping journey.
According to industry experts, this type of visual storytelling sparks immediate interest while also building greater trust and emotional connection. “If you sell handmade soaps, printed t-shirts, or handmade jewelry, showing your products in the right context can be the difference between being ignored or making a sale,” adds Photoroom’s CEO.
Additionally, the ease of image production allows teams to quickly test which visuals generate the most value. With less time and cost per image, it’s possible to run A/B tests with different visual contexts and focus efforts on the campaigns and creative assets that convert best.
“AI doesn’t replace human creativity, but it multiplies what a small team can produce. And in online commerce, where everything starts with an image, this makes all the difference,” concludes Matt.
