AI-Generated Videos Without Permission Cause Losses for E-commerce Sellers
The automatic promotional video creation feature using artificial intelligence (AI) launched by Shopee and TikTok Shop has brought problems for sellers. Videos made without the knowledge and consent of product owners often display incorrect information, alter the original appearance of goods, and mislead buyers. However, sellers have almost no control to remove them from both e-commerce platforms.
The most striking case was experienced by Singaporean author Xie Shi Min. Channel News Asia reported that she was surprised to find a promotional video for her book on Shopee. The AI-generated video altered the illustration on her book cover. The sword on the cover turned into a stick. Even stranger, the AI avatar in the video promised readers that they could ‘smell the scent of durian’ from within the pages of the book. The word durian was only mentioned briefly in one line and had nothing to do with the story’s content.
The book, which was supposed to contain a teenage story with themes of intergenerational trauma and verbal violence, was instead promoted by AI as ‘an exciting and fun adventure for children’. ‘A book cover that had been designed with great care had to be damaged in such a way. Seeing my work altered carelessly by AI truly feels like an insult,’ said Xie Shi Min.
A similar case was experienced by Koh Wan Yi, owner of paper product design studio Helumi. She found AI-generated videos on TikTok Shop displaying her annual calendars and stickers in exaggerated sizes and incorrect colours, causing buyers who received the actual items to feel disappointed because they did not match what was seen in the video. Some videos even appeared in foreign languages that the seller did not understand. Koh asked TikTok to block the video creator, but was advised to disable the open collaboration feature, which would cut off access for all content creators, including those who had been working well with her.
Sellers are frustrated by the difficulty of removing these videos. Book publisher Epigram Books has reported around 10 problematic videos since March 2026, but there is no certainty whether the videos were actually removed. Even after one video was reported, another AI-generated video appeared to replace it. ‘Like the Hydra’s head, one head is cut off, another grows back,’ complained Xie.
Shopee stated that product videos may contain content from various sources including user-generated and AI-generated content, and urged sellers to report content that violates policies. However, the platform did not explain whether sellers are notified when AI-generated videos are placed on their product pages, and did not provide a direct option to remove or replace them. Meanwhile, TikTok Shop stated that AI-generated content remains subject to community guidelines and can be reported if misleading.