Stockmann removes faulty AI-generated sweater image

Finnish department store chain Stockmann removed a faulty AI-generated product image from its online store after Yle contacted the company.

The image, used on the product page for a roughly 120 euro sweater by Danish clothing brand Mos Mosh, showed extra knitting around the model’s head. In another colour version of the same sweater, the stitch density also appeared markedly different from the actual product images.

The image was labelled “AI Generated”. Stockmann’s director of brand marketing, Anna Airisto, acknowledged the error.

“For human reasons, not all errors are always caught, as this example shows,” Airisto said.

According to Airisto, all images in which Stockmann has used AI are reviewed by people. She said errors are usually detected during that review.

Stockmann said it corrects errors when they are found. Its aim in the online store is to provide customers with as accurate a picture of the product as possible to support their purchasing decisions, Airisto said.

The company said it currently uses AI-assisted images only to a limited extent in parts of its online selection. The use is not focused on particular brands, but on products where AI-generated or AI-enhanced material can supplement existing product images.

EU transparency obligations related to AI came into force in August. AI-generated content must be labelled, for example with watermarks, and companies can face substantial fines for failing to comply.