Amazon is launching AI-generated custom merch

Amazon is expanding its print-on-demand features to AI-generated designs created using Alexa for Shopping for products like T-shirts, water bottles, and hoodies. Shoppers can use text prompts to generate images that are then printed on to blanks for sale on Amazon. They can then share the link to the design so other people can buy the same custom item. Amazon offers family reunions and pet-themed designs as use case examples, but the feature also threatens an entire ecosystem of drop-shipped products — as well as other custom printing companies. Amazon already had a Merch on Demand feature where shoppers could drop in images, text, and clip art-style icons into blank t-shirts and other products. Now with Alexa, shoppers can use AI to auto-generate designs and then tweak or edit them. Custom designs still need to adhere to Amazon’s content policies around things like trademarks and copyright. (A New York Knicks design I generated for testing was flagged for “third-party content concerns,” for example, and Amazon said I wouldn’t be able to purchase it.) But theoretically, customers will be able to create endless assortments of unbranded products right on Amazon. The new feature rolls up the process of designing, purchasing, and printing custom products all under one roof, and competes with sites like Redbubble, Printful, and Shutterfly, which for years have been the go-to for anyone needing a custom, fast print job. …