Anyone else like the AI description feature?

[tealt]

Until about a week ago I had always (for 24+ years) written my item descriptions in html (the for-dummies variety).

I currently have 70+ antique thingies to list of the same era and material, but each one different. This requires a different item description, item specifics, and photos for each one.  I'm using Sell Similar, but still wanted to reduce my listing time per item.  So I decided to use the AI description feature.

I am liking using the AI descriptions because:

1) It does save me some time. 

2) It picks up bits of important information from both my title and item specifics.  Thus the AI paragraph is usually accurate about facts.

2) It is a bit flowery, which is not my taste as a buyer, but I don't assume that my taste automatically appeals to all potential buyers.  Some folks like flowery and might be more inclined to buy.

3) It is completely editable.  I can eliminate words like "perfect", "excellent", "wonderful" and any other over-the-top adjectives that I would never, ever use in a description.  I can eliminate whole sentences and add whole sentences of my own (e.g. repeating the item condition).

So far the IA doesn't seem to be off putting to buyers, and I'm hoping that since I no longer have html in my descriptions, eBay isn't hiding my descriptions under an addition link.

I'd be curious to hear from anyone else who is using AI or has at least tried it.

[redlinear]

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@inhawaii wrote:

I love the AI description feature.

I hope my competitors all continue to use it.

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My thoughts exactly!

[redlinear]

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@richard1rst wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

I just tried it for the first time and agree--too flowery for my taste.   I worry about buyers not reading descriptions, or missing important parts, so the added verbiage was way too much clutter for me, so I removed it.

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Ditto that.

My item number https://www.ebay.com/itm/404097348990.

A figurine of Harley Quinn.

My description:

Fierce meets fabulous in this meticulously hand-crafted figurine
inspired by DC Comics most iconic villain.

Fall hopelessly in love with Gotham City's favorite femme fatale.
Arkham Asylum certainly has never been the same since
The Joker's cherished gal pal burst onto the scene
with her must have mallet accessory in hand.

AI's description

A Harley Quinn figurine is a collectible item that depicts the popular character from DC Comics. This particular figurine showcases Harley Quinn holding a wooden mallet. The figurine captures the essence of Harley Quinn's playful and mischievous nature, with attention to detail in her iconic outfit and signature pigtails. The wooden mallet she holds adds an element of her unpredictable and whimsical personality. This figurine is a must-have for fans of Harley Quinn and serves as a visually appealing representation of the character's unique style and charm.

***

Not only do I think the AI is way too wordy it completely ignores her relationship to The Joker which is as much a part of her character as the wooden mallet. And, by the way, she doesn't have pigtails.

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I think both descriptions read like a stereotype mid 70's used car salesman.

[itsjustasprain]

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@redlinear wrote:

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@richard1rst wrote:

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@fern*wood wrote:

I just tried it for the first time and agree--too flowery for my taste.   I worry about buyers not reading descriptions, or missing important parts, so the added verbiage was way too much clutter for me, so I removed it.

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Ditto that.

My item number https://www.ebay.com/itm/404097348990.

A figurine of Harley Quinn.

My description:

Fierce meets fabulous in this meticulously hand-crafted figurine
inspired by DC Comics most iconic villain.

Fall hopelessly in love with Gotham City's favorite femme fatale.
Arkham Asylum certainly has never been the same since
The Joker's cherished gal pal burst onto the scene
with her must have mallet accessory in hand.

AI's description

A Harley Quinn figurine is a collectible item that depicts the popular character from DC Comics. This particular figurine showcases Harley Quinn holding a wooden mallet. The figurine captures the essence of Harley Quinn's playful and mischievous nature, with attention to detail in her iconic outfit and signature pigtails. The wooden mallet she holds adds an element of her unpredictable and whimsical personality. This figurine is a must-have for fans of Harley Quinn and serves as a visually appealing representation of the character's unique style and charm.

***

Not only do I think the AI is way too wordy it completely ignores her relationship to The Joker which is as much a part of her character as the wooden mallet. And, by the way, she doesn't have pigtails.

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I think both descriptions read like a stereotype mid 70's used car salesman.

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I have to agree that if you are trying to write like an AI description you have definitely succeeded. 😉 If it was not for the missing hyphen in 'must have' I think I would have had a hard time deciding which was yours and which was AI.

[tealt]

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@maxine*j wrote:

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@tealt wrote:

... I decided to use the AI description feature... I'd be curious to hear from anyone else who is using AI or has at least tried it.

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Right now, it can be spotted a mile away with its phatic, overused, often unsuitable "marketing" phrases.  It too often makes the seller using it look uninformed or lazy, or both.

Since the only way to avoid that is to carefully proof and edit the AI description, why not use the same time and energy to write one's own?  Seems like a duplication of effort.

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Another poster on this thread, @my-cottage-books-and-antiques , has put their finger on why AI descriptions are useful to me.  Inspiration.

I have the time and energy to write just-the-facts descriptions, but I don't have the talent to create a simple sentence or two that might appeal to buyers on an emotional  (if that's the word I want) level.

I somehow can't find the words to make a potential buyer think, "Yes...that vase might look good on the mantlepiece next to the one grandma gave me."  Or, "Hmmm...that pin WOULD be a nice addition to my cat jewelry collection."

For a seller like me, with my limited creativity, sentences and phrases in an AI description can be used (an edited) to add to the possibility that my item might sell.

[itsjustasprain]

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@tealt wrote:

For a seller like me, with my limited creativity, sentences and phrases in an AI description can be used (an edited) to add to the possibility that my item might sell.

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For starters just be sure to remove any occurrences of the phrase 'must-have'. 😁

[blncoins]

I am a full-time Reseller of Jewelry high-end costume. I just went to list something today and didn’t get the AIS option. I was extremely disappointed. I love the option and wish it would return

[mr_lincoln]

@tealt 

My issue with typing in certain areas of eBay and here on The Community is at times I think AI selects words and completes them without me knowing it until I re-read what I have typed.

I see this often when I type words like custom but later see customer,  or form and see former.

I can see "maybe" (and that's a strong "maybe") making the mistake once but when it shows up several times in the same paragraph or post I have to give AI the credit for it. 

[chapeau-noir]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@tealt 

My issue with typing in certain areas of eBay and here on The Community is at times I think AI selects words and completes them without me knowing it until I re-read what I have typed.

I see this often when I type words like custom but later see customer,  or form and see former.

I can see "maybe" (and that's a strong "maybe") making the mistake once but when it shows up several times in the same paragraph or post I have to give AI the credit for it. 

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If you're on a desktop and use Edge it has an annoying autocomplete. You can switch that off.  If you use another browser, check to see whether autocomplete is enabled.

[a_c_green]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@tealt 

My issue with typing in certain areas of eBay and here on The Community is at times I think AI selects words and completes them without me knowing it until I re-read what I have typed.

I see this often when I type words like custom but later see customer,  or form and see former.

I can see "maybe" (and that's a strong "maybe") making the mistake once but when it shows up several times in the same paragraph or post I have to give AI the credit for it. 

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If you're on a desktop and use Edge it has an annoying autocomplete. You can switch that off.  If you use another browser, check to see whether autocomplete is enabled.

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Right; it's not AI, but just the autocomplete feature that's been a standard option in text editors on desktops and mobile since, like, forever. The cheesy ones try to give you a completion of the most likely word in the language based on whatever letters you've already typed of your current word. The better ones will base their offering on the most frequently matching word that you yourself have used, and sometimes on the context of the sentence and word(s) that you've most recently typed. It's basically just a mechanical algorithm at work.

[chapeau-noir]

The one that Edge has is particularly annoying - it was 'updated' last year and butts in everywhere.

[dollocity]

 Not sure about it yet.

Reason I tried it... hoping if the ai wrote the description

Maybe the ai would show the item.

[merseyglo]

How can AI be anything more that a generic in general description?

It can only result in less customer satisfaction because of less accurate descriptions of pre owned things and antiques. Step in the wrong direction.

[mr_lincoln]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@tealt 

My issue with typing in certain areas of eBay and here on The Community is at times I think AI selects words and completes them without me knowing it until I re-read what I have typed.

I see this often when I type words like custom but later see customer,  or form and see former.

I can see "maybe" (and that's a strong "maybe") making the mistake once but when it shows up several times in the same paragraph or post I have to give AI the credit for it. 

---

If you're on a desktop and use Edge it has an annoying autocomplete. You can switch that off.  If you use another browser, check to see whether autocomplete is enabled.

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@chapeau-noir   Wow, just now saw this reply from early last month ... I will try that and also, please feel free to tag me ... 

One area it crops up is the Title line on listings ... and then in the price field on listings.  If I type in the price it does not show but is registered (I see this when I save it for later and edit).  When I click on an empty price field a list of prices appears, if I select one of those it will display it AND I can edit that price and it will display it ... dumb, not sure that is a Edge autocomplete issue but I could be wrong.

[tealt]

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@merseyglo wrote:

How can AI be anything more that a generic in general description?

It can only result in less customer satisfaction because of less accurate descriptions of pre owned things and antiques. Step in the wrong direction.

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When I used AI for my antique items  the description it generated was accurate for my particular item because the AI picked up specifics I had put in the title and IS.

The AI generated description was usually factually correct and contained several over the top adjectives. I always edited out those adjectives.

[chapeau-noir]

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

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@mr_lincoln wrote:

@tealt 

My issue with typing in certain areas of eBay and here on The Community is at times I think AI selects words and completes them without me knowing it until I re-read what I have typed.

I see this often when I type words like custom but later see customer,  or form and see former.

I can see "maybe" (and that's a strong "maybe") making the mistake once but when it shows up several times in the same paragraph or post I have to give AI the credit for it. 

---

If you're on a desktop and use Edge it has an annoying autocomplete. You can switch that off.  If you use another browser, check to see whether autocomplete is enabled.

---

@chapeau-noir   Wow, just now saw this reply from early last month ... I will try that and also, please feel free to tag me ... 

One area it crops up is the Title line on listings ... and then in the price field on listings.  If I type in the price it does not show but is registered (I see this when I save it for later and edit).  When I click on an empty price field a list of prices appears, if I select one of those it will display it AND I can edit that price and it will display it ... dumb, not sure that is a Edge autocomplete issue but I could be wrong.

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@mr_lincoln  They may both be the Edge autocomplete feature, the display of other numbers makes me think that it might be - see what happens when you turn it off.  Though as for the price text box itself, I've seen reports of this being a problem lately IIRC - the tech board has some posts about it.