Nothing seemed wrong. AI changes that. AI systems read product information to understand, compare and recommend products, which puts the quality of your product data on full display. Many organisations now think they have an AI challenge. More often, the challenge starts at the foundation: reliable, consistent product information.
Product information grows in silos
Almost every organisation manages product information in more than one system. Technical specifications sit in the ERP system. Suppliers send their own datasheets. Marketing looks after commercial content. And for online stores or marketplaces, someone adds extra attributes on top. There is nothing unusual about that set-up. It becomes a problem when no central structure holds all that information together.
Without it, the same product ends up with several versions of its own information. Dimensions differ from system to system, suppliers use their own names for the same properties, and attributes are left half filled in. Changes do not travel automatically either. The result: a product shows one set of details in your online store and another on a marketplace or in a different sales channel.
As long as your team can fix those differences by hand, the damage stays limited. That gets harder as your range grows and you sell through more channels. Inconsistencies multiply, and keeping product information current and reliable eats up more and more time.
AI sets a higher bar for product data
People fill in the gaps. They read around missing or conflicting information and still work out what a product is. AI works differently: it judges a product on the information in front of it. When compatibility details are missing, when specifications contradict each other, or when similar products are described in different ways, products become harder to understand and compare.
That does not mean AI immediately recommends the wrong product. It does mean the information it works from is less reliable, and that shapes how your products get found, compared and recommended. So product data takes on a different role. Its quality used to affect mainly internal processes. Today it also shapes a growing part of the digital customer journey.
More product data does not mean better product data
Most organisations hold huge volumes of product information. A shortage of data is rarely the issue. The real question is whether that data is reliable, consistent and properly managed.
Dataconsistentie
Are product attributes recorded the same way everywhere? Are your definitions unambiguous? Is it clear which source takes priority? Do changes flow automatically to every sales channel?
Without that groundwork, the same product information starts appearing in several versions. Adding more data does not shrink the problem. It makes it harder to untangle.
Structure is what makes the difference
Keeping product information reliable takes more than a central place to store it. You need clear agreements on how product data is recorded, managed and enriched. This is where Product Information Management (PIM) comes in. A PIM system pulls product information from your different sources into one place and manages attributes, categories and product relationships according to fixed agreements. That gives you a single source of product information for online stores, marketplaces, apps and any other sales channel.
A PIM system does not improve data quality on its own. Quality still depends on the processes and agreements inside your organisation. What a PIM does give you is the structure and the insight to manage product information consistently and improve its quality where it matters.
A strong foundation for both AI and digital commerce
AI does not create bad product data. It shows up what organisations have been wrestling with for years. That is an opportunity. Invest in a strong foundation for your product information now, and you are better prepared for a future in which AI plays a bigger part in digital commerce.
That starts with better data, not more of it. Manage product information centrally, work from clear definitions and set up your processes so information stays reliable and consistent. The result is a foundation that both AI applications and digital sales channels can build on.
Want to know where your organisation stands?
Looking to get a firmer grip on your product data and lay a strong foundation for AI and digital commerce at the same time? Our experts are happy to think through a PIM strategy that fits your organisation. That way your product information stays reliable, today and in the years ahead.
