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At re:Invent 2025, Amazon Web Services (AWS) unveiled a groundbreaking partnership with 123RF, a leading royalty-free stock media platform. This collaboration introduces a new generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) capability designed to enhance video comprehension and image retrieval. For small business owners who rely on high-quality media to market and illustrate their products, this development offers promising enhancements to operational efficiency and creative capacity.
123RF boasts an impressive catalog with over 230 million assets and serves more than 12.4 million users globally. By implementing Gen AI technology via AWS, the platform has achieved a remarkable increase in the accuracy of video descriptors and improved search relevance. Early testing on a sample of five million videos doubled the accuracy of content identification and streamlined the search process, enabling ecommerce clients to find and pair appropriate media with their products quickly. This directly improves the speed and volume of products they can list each day, enhancing sales opportunities.
A significant benefit of this technology is its ability to deliver precise results even when traditional tagging methods fall short. For instance, when a user initiates a search for “green bag,” the AI comprehensively analyzes the visual content, returning only relevant results instead of unrelated content tagged with similar keywords. This improvement means that small business owners—including those managing ecommerce sites or digital marketing firms—can spend less time sifting through irrelevant images and videos and focus more on strategic activities that drive business growth.
As Bernadine Michael, Chief Marketing Officer at 123RF, observed, the capabilities provided by AWS have transformed the company’s operations, allowing marketing teams to launch campaigns 35% faster. “The real breakthrough is how Gen AI on AWS democratizes creativity across our global subscriber base,” she remarked, emphasizing that designers and marketers can now locate the perfect assets in an instant, regardless of language or cultural context.
However, the advantages extend to compliance and content verification as well. With increased scrutiny regarding copyright and licensing, 123RF employs AI to automatically detect trademarked logos and flag branded content effectively. This functionality helps small business owners ensure that the visuals they use are compliant with licensing requirements, reducing potential legal risks while streamlining their asset management workflows.
Prior to implementing this AI technology, 123RF faced a significant bottleneck: a labor-intensive review process where 30-40 human reviewers evaluated around 3,000 images daily. After adopting Gen AI, the platform reduced content review times by a staggering 92%, allowing customers to find creative assets in 90% less time with improved accuracy.
Phoebe Liew, Chief Technology Officer at 123RF, explained how the AI enhances content understanding: “Our AWS-powered AI technology now ‘sees’ images the way humans do.” This advanced system captures unique visual properties, allowing it to match similar images regardless of the descriptive language used. By analyzing actual visual elements rather than relying solely on keyword accuracy, small business owners benefit from a more streamlined content retrieval process that eliminates duplicates and better identifies potential copyright issues.
While the potential benefits of adopting such AI capabilities are compelling, small business owners should also consider certain challenges. Implementing these advanced technologies requires upfront investment and may involve a learning curve. Furthermore, businesses must remain vigilant about evolving legal and ethical considerations surrounding AI-generated content.
Moreover, small business owners must evaluate whether the existing digital infrastructure can support these new capabilities. Transitioning to an AI-powered platform may necessitate upgrades or additional training for staff to harness the full potential of these tools.
AWS’s investment aligns with a broader trend of increasing AI adoption among startups. Their recent “Unlocking Ambitions” survey highlights that 48% of startups are implementing AI solutions, and nearly a third are developing entirely new AI-driven products. As noted by Hussein Mohd. Ali, AWS’s Country Manager for Malaysia, such advancements position the region as a growing hub for AI innovation, which can benefit small businesses looking to compete on a global stage.
In light of these developments, small business owners should explore how integrating generative AI into their operations can enhance efficiency and foster creative growth. As the landscape continues to evolve, leveraging cloud computing and AI technologies can empower businesses to innovate, reduce operational bottlenecks, and adapt more swiftly to market demands.
For further details on 123RF’s new capabilities and the technology behind it, visit the original press release here.
Image via Google Gemini
