Pebblely AI Review: Is It Useful For Ecommerce Product Photos?

My biggest gripe with generative AI these days is that it has tried to infiltrate every single aspect of taking and editing photos.

This is mainly a problem because generative AI simply isn’t at the point where you can get professional-grade detailing from a simple chat interface or text prompt.

However, what I’ve been increasingly impressed by is AI’s ability to apply minor changes to existing images.

In most cases, these small edits used to take a bit of time, but when they needed to be done in a batch (or to be consistent), they could take a lot of time and money to complete.

That’s where AI image generation and editing can be a big benefit, especially if you’re not well-versed in pro editing tools.

Pebblely AI offers an easy-to-use platform to enhance product photos or swap out backgrounds that can be fitted for any e-commerce platform.

But how well does it do? Let’s find out.

What Does Pebblely Offer?

At its core, Pebblely is a browser-based platform that provides backgrounds and minor edits for product photography.

Think of it as an editor that allows you to change the setting where you took the original photos.

That means that the actual product photo is practically untouched (and immutable), so this is an incredibly specific application in an already specific niche.

Now, you might be thinking that this is a bad thing.

However, this is probably playing to the app’s benefit.

By presenting itself as a dedicated solution for one thing only, there’s less chance that the product quality gets diluted.

It’s because of this niche appeal that we included it in our round-up of AI tools that are revolutionizing e-commerce photography.

Feature Review

As mentioned, there’s only one standout feature here, so I’ll use multiple references to test it out and see what the program spits out.

Notably, there are a few use cases here that I’m interested in that typically concern bulk editing.

Background Remover

In the simplest sense, you’ll most likely use Pebblely to generate a new or interesting background for one given item, and do so one product at a time.

This allows you to place your product in a more natural setting or vary some specific part of the environment so it aligns with your specific needs.

For pure background generation (i.e., from scratch), the concept is simple: all you have to do is provide a source image.

Notably, Pebblely starts by removing the background from the image. I’ve used a basic image of a perfume bottle with a reflection to check that portion.

Here’s when I ran into my first issue with the tool: it comes with very few abilities to make changes to the uploaded asset.

You get a “Magic” brush tool that detects the background and selects it, but the tool doesn’t work well if the background doesn’t contrast much against the object.

Then, you get a “Normal” brush that allows you to select the rest of the background and remove it if needed.

I’ve managed to click the Magic brush on a few sections of the reflection and fill in the rest with the Normal one to get a decent-looking result.

In the following image, the red outline is the background selected by the tool plus the brushes.

When I previewed that, I could finally get a good-looking product image to use.

As you can tell, there’s still a bit of roughness around the edges, which I’m attributing to the loss of resolution and the fact that the bottle is similar to the original background shade.

To get a more accurate result, let’s use a slightly different product that has more separation from the environment, such as a brown teddy bear.

In this case, the challenge would be to isolate the toy from the other objects.

The image is taken directly from the tool without using the “Magic” brush or other modifications.

As you can see, this is a markedly better result.

However, the default resolution of the image (capped at 1024×1024 for the free version) plus what seems to be a relatively inaccurate background detector means that you still have a lot of visible edges on the object.

This could work well if you’re using very large images, where the details will blend nicely.

Alternatively, you might want to use images and backgrounds with similar color schemes.

• More AI Background Removal Tools

Adding Stock Backgrounds

Now here’s where we get into what the tool is actually supposed to offer: adding a background to the image.

When using the free account, you’re unfortunately limited to only the “stock” backgrounds that were either generated or pulled from libraries and used as-is.

This comes with a few benefits, but mostly has downsides.

On the plus side, the stock backgrounds library has a few solid options on its own, allowing you to swap between many that should work well for different product types or industries.

Additionally, the background generation (or rather insertion) is relatively seamless by itself. Here’s what our bear looks like on what’s supposed to be a table or shelf.

As you can see, the tool has done a solid job of trying to place the bear naturally on the surface, adding a few shadows below it.

However, if you dig a bit deeper, you’ll almost immediately start to notice issues.

For one, there is quite a bit of distortion around the bear where it meets the lighter part of the background.

This is presumably due to the AI trying to stretch and meld the original background behind the object that was removed.

When I click on the image, I get more details, including what the source background was supposed to look like.

From there, you’ve got a few more options, including editing the image. But none of the options actually work when using the free account.

So if you want to make any changes whatsoever to the image, you’ll have to regenerate it from scratch, which can use up precious credits.

Where the app did seem to find its footing is, paradoxically, working with a more colorful background. Here’s what I got when using a more “splotchy” option.

As you can see, while the shadows are pretty much nonexistent, the product is literally floating above the kaleidoscope of colors that’s supposed to be the ground.

But on the plus side, there are no telltale signs of blur and bokeh effects around the product itself, particularly the parts surrounding the top, as in the previous image.

After running a few more options and testing other images, the background generator from the template works decently overall.

In general, I considered roughly three out of five images usable out of the box. However, nearly all of them would still likely benefit from editing to include clearer shadows and remove some artifacts.

Bulk Generation

Considering Pebblely doesn’t have many other options in its repertoire, the ability to generate images in bulk can come in handy.

When it comes to bulk generation, there are two routes you can take: reusing the product or reusing the background.

Bulk Backgrounds – Free

The first option is technically built into the tool, even in the free version. Simply clicking the “Surprise me” button will provide four images in roughly a minute.

In this case, the backgrounds can vary wildly, but they usually won’t be too out of place considering the product.

For example, most products that would fit on a countertop or table came with a background that didn’t have a lot of details built in.

On the other hand, trying out larger items like furniture used the more comprehensive “room” options from the templates.

Notably, generating complex backgrounds took quite a lot more time than it did with the simpler versions.

It’s important to note that when performing generation in bulk, the actual product doesn’t move on the canvas.

The background is seamlessly generated around it, so you can swap between them and not worry about changing the relative position of the object compared to the rest of the intended webpage.

However, that’s pretty much where the free options for the tool stop.

As far as bulk generation for multiple products on a single background is concerned, your only real option is to get a subscription.

Additionally, there’s no free trial to test some of these tools, either, so you’re pretty much stuck paying for at least a month of “Premium.”

Bulk Products – Paid

To test this feature out, I used a similar combination of products, where the only real differences were the shooting angle (and not by much) or color.

The tool comes with an intuitive selector that allows you to check or upload all the products you want to bulk generate.

Then, just select the background and wait a few minutes (depending on how many products you have).

After that, you’ll get a collage of products that have a similar background. Here’s an example from Pebblely’s gallery.

However, it should be noted that the tool can’t really promise 100% accuracy in terms of translating the background seamlessly.

If you zoom into the gallery, you’ll notice that most of the details are actually quite different. The only thing that stayed the same was the overall “setting” or “vibe” of the background.

Of course, if you want to put a simple gradient or shelf edge as the background, it’s far more likely to produce a more seamless result for bulk generation.

So overall, I wouldn’t really count on this tool to give you the same background twice or multiple times in a row. It seems to be simply too random for that.

Custom Background Generation (Paid)

Another feature that seems like it should be included in the free version, at least in a limited mode for testing, is the ability to dictate what type of background you want through text entry.

This is something that’s become relatively commonplace in AI image generation tools, including models from OpenAI and Claude.

For Pebblely, you’ll need to get a subscription to access the “chatbot.”

Once you do, however, you do get more options to play with.

The tool’s Custom mode allows you to set the intended tone or “keywords” to hit on the desired background by eliminating keywords.

Admittedly, this seems like a hit-or-miss method based on some samples I got, as the keywords can vary wildly and be as non-descript as the word “ugly.”

However, the tool does have a solid reference feature. This allows you to load in a background you like and get a result that looks relatively similar, but not quite the same.

When combined with the bulk features, this can be useful if you want to iterate through multiple backgrounds quickly or regenerate a single result.

Model Tryout – Paid

If your products focus on clothing and accessories, there’s technically an option that allows you to create or use a reference model, then put your product on it.

Notably, the model needs to come from your own gallery unless you want to use the default one, which is a bit bland.

The tool is generally good when trying to add small details like necklaces to the model (especially in a close-up).

But it starts getting less and less accurate if you’re trying entire outfit changes, especially if the angle of the model and the clothing doesn’t match.

Pricing and Benefits

The free version of the tool is, frankly, not that great.

You get only 40 images per month, and you only have the option to create a background from a template.

Theoretically, you can log in with multiple emails and avoid the credit restriction, but the sheer lack of available features can be off-putting.

The first subscription tier ups the credit count to 1,000 images per month and unlocks all the features.

As such, if you want to get a real feel of the tool, you’ll need to shell out US$19 (the cost of a one-month subscription).

If you decide to go for the annual option, you’ll get 2 months off (for an effective 17% discount).

In most cases, this should be enough.

Who Is Pebblely AI For?

Due to its focus on product photography and a scant selection of options, Pebblely is ultimately not really that useful unless you’re a complete beginner to e-commerce.

Most of the options the platform has are typically available somewhere else, but the lack of a trial and a limited free plan really hurts your ability to try out Pebblely genuinely before you can make a choice.

Overall, I’d recommend it only if you need a few good-quality pictures to fill out your gallery, especially if you’ve got professional-grade product photos ready.

Pebblely’s AI will allow you to save some money on later photoshoots when you’d ordinarily need a model, studio, or dedicated scene.

Overall, if you just want to try the tool out, it can’t hurt; just note that you will need to pay for the subscription to get any real work done and get customized results.