Eko Builds AI-Ready Product Catalog for Retailers

Arkansas 'capture factory' creates digital product files to improve online listings and shopping via AI chatbots

Apr. 4, 2026 at 6:34pm

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Eko, a Brooklyn-based firm, has opened a massive warehouse in Bentonville, Arkansas to create an AI-ready digital catalog of millions of retail products. Hundreds of Eko employees work to meticulously photograph and document every detail of items like vitamin bottles, strollers, and washing machine pods to ensure accurate online listings that can be easily understood by AI shopping assistants like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. This effort aims to improve the quality of product information as more consumers turn to AI-powered shopping.

Why it matters

As AI-driven shopping grows, the accuracy and richness of product data becomes increasingly important. Retailers have long struggled to maintain high-quality listings, often outsourcing the task to suppliers. Eko's 'capture factory' approach aims to create a new standard for AI-ready product information that can reduce returns, improve sales, and provide a better shopping experience.

The details

Eko's warehouse in Bentonville is larger than two football fields, where teams of employees work to photograph and document products from every angle. They use movie-studio-style stages to capture detailed shots, adjusting lighting, removing fingerprints, and even hooking up live models to demonstrate features. The process can take 10 minutes for a simple item like a vitamin bottle, or half a day for a complex product like a refrigerator. Eko owns the product data it creates and leases the 'Eko files' to brands and retailers, giving it control over accuracy.

  • Eko opened its Bentonville 'capture factory' in 2025.
  • Walmart has invested more than $300 million in Eko since 2018.

The players

Eko

A Brooklyn-based firm that operates the 'capture factory' in Bentonville and creates AI-ready digital product files for retailers.

Ben Kaufman

The president of Eko.

Walmart

A major investor in Eko and a retailer that is working to make its product listings more AI-ready.

Nathan Feather

An internet analyst at Morgan Stanley who discusses the importance of detailed product information for AI-driven shopping.

Yoni Bloch

The founder of Eko.

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What they’re saying

“The output of AI is only as good as the input, and there was no good input.”

— Ben Kaufman, President of Eko

“A lot of the specific features of that inventory become more important.”

— Nathan Feather, Internet Analyst at Morgan Stanley

“We know that's a pain point for similar competitor products—that it doesn't dissolve well. We want to just show honestly how it happens.”

— Talia Halperin, Head of Merchandising for Eko

What’s next

Eko plans to continue expanding its 'capture factory' operations to build a comprehensive digital catalog of retail products, working with more brands and retailers to improve the accuracy and AI-readiness of online product listings.

The takeaway

Eko's meticulous approach to creating an AI-ready product catalog highlights the growing importance of high-quality, detailed product data as shopping increasingly moves to AI-powered platforms. This effort aims to benefit both retailers and consumers by reducing returns, improving sales, and delivering a better overall shopping experience.