Snap: Capturing Products
The Capture tab walks you through a three-step workflow: identify the product, photograph it, then review and submit. Each step is described below.
Step 1: Identify
Before taking any photos, merchi.ai needs a Product ID to link the images to.
Enter a Product ID manually
- Tap the Product ID field
- Type your SKU, product code, or any unique identifier
- Tap Continue (or press return on the keyboard)
The ID must be unique within your account. Use the same conventions you apply everywhere else, for example SKU-12345 or PROD-WIDGET-001.
Scan a barcode or QR code
- Tap Scan Barcode below the text field
- Point the camera at any standard barcode or QR code
- The detected value is automatically filled into the Product ID field. Review it and tap Continue.
Scanning requires camera permission. If the app asks for access, tap Allow. If you previously denied it, go to Settings → Privacy → Camera on your device and enable it for merchi.ai Snap.
Step 2: Capture
Once you confirm the Product ID, the camera opens full-screen.
Camera controls
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Shutter button | Takes a photo and adds it to the thumbnail strip |
| Thumbnail strip | Shows all photos taken so far in this session |
| Done button | Ends capture and moves to the Review step |
| Cancel | Discards all photos and returns to the Identify step |
Tips for good photos
- Multiple angles: Capture front, back, sides, and any detail shots. More angles give the AI more information.
- Lighting: Use even, diffuse light. Avoid harsh shadows across the product.
- Fill the frame: The product should occupy most of the frame. Avoid a lot of empty background.
- Resolution: Photos are automatically resized to 1920px wide at high quality before upload. You don’t need to pre-process images.
- Stability: Hold the phone steady to avoid blur. Use both hands or rest against a surface.
Camera level indicator
A level indicator shows when the camera is roughly horizontal. This is useful for flat-lay shots where consistent orientation matters.
Step 3: Review
The Review screen shows all your captured photos and lets you make changes before submitting.
What you can do
- Delete a photo: tap the × on any thumbnail to remove it
- Rotate a photo: tap the rotate icon on a thumbnail to rotate it 90° clockwise. Repeat to rotate further.
- Add more photos: tap Add More to return to the camera and shoot additional angles
- Edit the Product ID: tap the Product ID field to correct it before submitting
- Enable Studio Cutout: toggle per-photo to request AI background removal (see below)
Studio Cutout
Studio Cutout uses AI to isolate the product from its background and place it on a clean, flat white (#FFFFFF) background. The product itself is not altered. Every pixel of the original photo is preserved.
- Toggle Studio Cutout on the photos you want processed
- You can select all photos, some photos, or none
- Studio Cutout is processed asynchronously after the main AI content generation completes. Pulsing placeholder tiles appear in the product image carousel while they process.
Studio Cutout consumes additional processing time but not additional credits.
Submitting
Tap Submit when you are happy with your photos. The app will:
- Compress each photo to 1920px width at 92% JPEG quality
- Upload all photos and queue them for AI processing
- Record the product as captured from this device
- Navigate you to the Products tab, where the job appears in the Processing section at the top
You can start photographing the next product immediately. Jobs run in the background.
After Submission
- The product and its processing status appear at the top of the Products tab
- Tap the job card once processing completes to open the product detail screen
- You can also monitor jobs in the dedicated Queue tab
If the upload fails (for example, due to poor connectivity), you will see an error alert. Check your connection and try again. No credits are consumed until the upload succeeds.