From buttons to automation: How AI is changing Product Information Management (PIM)

Remember when automatic windscreen wipers seemed like an unnecessary luxury? Just two decades ago, drivers said they'd never need sensors to tell them when to use their wipers. Today, this once-optional feature is standard in most vehicles, and drivers can't imagine life without it. 

This same transformation is happening in Product Information Management (PIM), where Artificial Intelligence (AI) is turning tedious manual tasks, like generating and enriching product descriptions and translations, into seamless automated processes. And while some people may think this technology is a luxury, it is quickly becoming table stakes to remain competitive.

The state of PIM today

Despite technological advances, many organizations still struggle with manual product information management. They rely on scattered Excel sheets, endless email chains, and manual updates – a fragmented approach that worked in the past but can't keep pace with today's digital commerce demands.

Even businesses that have adopted basic PIM systems often face persistent challenges:

• Managing product information across multiple languages and markets
• Creating consistent, engaging product descriptions at scale
• Maintaining accuracy while reducing time-to-market
• Coordinating between technical, marketing, and sales teams

The translation journey

Let me share a recent client experience that illustrates this evolution perfectly. Initially, our client’s  salespeople were tasked with translating product descriptions, technical specifications, and marketing materials simply because they worked in foreign markets.

The company eventually progressed to a professional translation agency. However, this "solution" merely replaced old problems with new ones: endless Excel files shuttling back and forth via email, extended waiting periods, and mounting costs. It was like using a better umbrella instead of installing those automatic wipers – an improvement, but not quite the solution that was needed.

Their first PIM implementation brought some relief through automated data exchange with the translation agency. The process became more convenient, though the translation timeline and costs remained stubbornly high.

Enter AI

As a Business Consultant who loves digging into details, I discovered something intriguing: while the translation agency's delivery times had dramatically improved, their fees hadn't budged. The reason? They were already using AI for 90% of their translations!

Fortunately, the client used Akeneo PIM, which had just rolled out AI features in their default SaaS version. The decision was obvious: why pay a middleman for AI translations when we could access them directly?

We implemented rules for the AI to automatically translate content from English into 16 other languages upon entry. Consider the scale: 60 fields × 16 languages × 25,000 products = 24 million potential translations, all handled automatically. Like those automatic wipers, once configured, it works silently in the background, making everyone's life easier.

Beyond translation

While our client now enjoyed lightning-fast translations, their marketing team still grappled with creating original product descriptions. Technical specifications were straightforward – materials, colors, compatibility – but crafting compelling marketing narratives for 25,000 products remained challenging.

The result? Accessories and spare parts received minimal descriptions, and similar products shared identical copy-pasted content. The compelling narratives their brand deserved were missing.

Intelligent content creation

This is where Akeneo's second AI feature proved transformative: intelligent content generation. Think of it as a smart assistant that transforms technical specifications into both detailed summaries and engaging marketing narratives – same source data, different narrative approaches.

Importantly, this doesn't replace the marketing team. Instead, it provides them with intelligent first drafts. Rather than facing blank pages, they now enhance and personalize AI-generated content, adding that crucial human touch that defines their brand.

The results speak for themselves:

• Every product now has its unique description
• Copy-paste errors are eliminated
• Brand tone remains consistent across the catalog
• Marketing team focuses on strategic content
• Overall content quality has improved