Singapore’s fast-growing use of artificial intelligence in online shopping is triggering a new concern: AI-generated videos promoting products that sellers say they did not create, approve or have sufficient control over.
Sellers on Shopee and TikTok Shop have told Channel NewsAsia (CNA) that automatically generated promotional videos have sometimes distorted product details, altered appearances and presented products in ways that could leave shoppers with the wrong impression.
The issue has emerged as e-commerce platforms increasingly turn to artificial intelligence to produce promotional content at scale.
AI video turns a local novel into something it isn’t
Singaporean author Xie Shi Min discovered in March that an AI-generated video promoting her novel Ghost Hunters of Geylang had appeared on Shopee.
The video distorted elements of the book’s cover and described the young-adult novel, which deals with themes including generational trauma and abuse, as a fun and wholesome adventure for children.
Xie told CNA that seeing her work represented that way was deeply upsetting.
The problem did not necessarily end when the original video disappeared. When she checked the listing again in August, she found another AI-generated video promoting the same book.
Epigram Books, the publisher of the novel, said several authors had contacted the company with similar concerns. The publisher told CNA it had reported about 10 affected listings since March.
The publisher also said some authors initially believed the videos had been commissioned by the publisher itself, creating another problem: AI-generated promotional material can make consumers believe a brand or publisher approved content that it actually did not create.
Sellers say product details can be changed by AI
Design studio owner Koh Wan Yi reported a similar experience with her products.
She told CNA that AI-generated promotional videos appearing on TikTok showed her calendars and stickers with incorrect proportions and colours. In one example, a calendar appeared dramatically larger than its real size.
For a small business, such inaccuracies can create a practical problem: customers may buy a product based on what they see in a promotional video and then feel misled when the actual item arrives.
Koh also said some AI-generated affiliate videos appeared in languages unrelated to her Singapore-based business.
She eventually switched off TikTok Shop’s “open collaboration” feature, which allows creators to promote her products, after finding it difficult to control problematic promotional videos.
That decision, however, came with a trade-off: she also lost an easier way to work with legitimate affiliate creators she trusted.
TikTok is tightening rules on misleading AI content
TikTok Shop’s current Singapore seller guidance makes clear that AI-generated content is not automatically prohibited, but misleading AI-generated promotional content can violate platform rules.
TikTok specifically warns against AI-generated videos that misrepresent product details, dimensions, colours, materials, functionality or results. Its guidance also says creators should review AI-generated videos before posting them.
TikTok Shop has also introduced stronger action against creators who post misleading affiliate content, including misleading material made with AI. Depending on violations, affiliate commission payments can be delayed, while repeated misleading or low-quality content can result in posting restrictions.
That is significant because it shows the platforms themselves recognize a central risk of AI shopping content: speed and scale can amplify mistakes just as quickly as they amplify useful information.
Singapore’s advertising watchdog has already raised concerns
The controversy also comes as Singapore’s advertising industry grapples with the rapid spread of generative AI.
The Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore said it received 379 pieces of advertising feedback in 2025, including seven relating to advertisements involving generative AI. That was more than double the number of AI-related feedback received in 2023 and 2024 combined.
ASAS said concerns included AI-generated images and videos depicting fictitious events or making misleading claims.
Its warning is particularly relevant to the shopping-video controversy: simply disclosing that AI was used does not make misleading advertising acceptable. Advertisers still have a responsibility to ensure the resulting material does not mislead consumers.
Why this matters beyond Shopee and TikTok
The controversy is part of a much wider shift in Singapore’s advertising landscape.
CNA reported that demand for generative-AI advertising services has surged in recent months, with businesses using AI to produce videos, images, copy and even virtual influencers. AI can dramatically increase the speed and scale at which marketing materials are produced.
But advertising experts warned that poorly executed AI content can damage consumer trust rather than strengthen a brand.
The concern is not simply that a video “looks AI-generated.” The bigger issue is whether consumers receive an inaccurate impression of the product, brand or experience being advertised.
Recent reporting by The Straits Times has also highlighted the broader explosion of AI-generated advertising targeting Singapore users, including videos that use AI-generated versions of recognizable public figures and virtual characters. Some examples have reportedly contained inaccurate speech, text or portrayals of Singapore.
Shopee says sellers can report problematic videos
Shopee told CNA that product videos on its platform can include user-contributed material, including AI-generated content.
The company said it has safeguards intended to detect and address unsafe or policy-violating videos and encouraged sellers who have concerns about videos attached to their listings to report them for review.
Shopee also said it had contacted affected sellers to provide assistance and would continue improving its processes.
However, the sellers interviewed by CNA raised a deeper question: who ultimately controls how a seller’s product is represented when AI-generated promotional content can appear alongside the listing?
For small businesses and independent creators, brand identity can take years to build. A misleading AI video can potentially undermine that reputation within seconds.
The bigger question for online shoppers
AI is rapidly becoming part of the machinery behind digital commerce. It can help sellers and platforms create promotional material faster, produce content in multiple languages and reach more customers.
But the same technology can also create convincing visuals that are simply not accurate.
For shoppers, that means a polished product video may no longer be enough evidence that what is being shown is what will actually arrive at the door.
And for sellers, the controversy raises a question that e-commerce platforms may increasingly have to answer:
When artificial intelligence creates the advertisement, who is responsible for making sure the advertisement tells the truth?
That question is likely to become harder to ignore as AI-generated shopping content becomes more common across Singapore’s digital marketplace.
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