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PicoNext has designed a generative artificial intelligence capability for its Digital Product Passport (DPP) platform, analyzing and summarizing raw product data into sustainability metrics to lower the time and costs spent publishing DPPs.

With the European Union and other jurisdictions starting to mandate the publication of DPPs, the PicoNext AI Assistant is set to help companies avoid organizing product data manually. It is integrated with the DPP Planner, PicoNext’s ‘one-stop tool’ for gathering and organizing DPP product data.

The PicoNext AI Assistant takes on raw, unstructured product data in various formats, which can then be used to quickly and automatically summarize the sustainability metrics in a DPP template in line with regulatory standards. These include material origins, carbon footprint, environmental impact, and recycling, among others.

Its key features include flexible input formats, with the system using web URLs, Microsoft Word documents, Microsoft PowerPoint presentations, and other raw inputs as product data. Users can select between multiple foundational large language models – including Open AI GPT-4o, OpenAI GPT 3.5 Turbo, and Google Gemini Flash 1.5 – to generate texts.

Furthermore, the generated output is refined via custom, follow-on AI prompts; for example, it might hone in on specific product attributes. Target word count, output variety, content repetition, and other optional factors can all be refined in the generation process.

Users can then manually review and edit the AI-generated content before publication to ensure accuracy. Data privacy is also assured, PicoNext says, as no customer content is used to train the underlying AI model.

In using generative AI, companies are expected to abstain from the expensive integration of enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and other data silos.

“Companies are preparing their Digital Product Passports not only to engage sustainability focused customers, but to comply with regulations in the European Union and other locations,” said Dave Dickson, founder of PicoNext. “With the new PicoNext AI Assistant, brands can dramatically reduce the cost and time it takes to prepare Digital Product Passports through generative AI that automatically summarizes these key product data points into templates aligned with emerging regulatory standards.”

The PicoNext AI Assistant is now available to organizations that already utilize a PicoNext Pro or Enterprise plan.

Last October, Avery Dennison took its own steps into the DPP space with the release of Digital Product Passport as a Service (DPPaaS) – an on-demand, end-to-end service consisting of consultancy, hardware, software, digital ID technology, physical labels, and support services. It is anticipated to help brands prepare for upcoming EU legislation surrounding DPPs.

Viamedici and Sustain360 teamed up earlier this year, also intending to create DPPs and meet the requirements of the European Commission’s Sustainable Products Regulation. The passports are said to utilize Web 3.0 technologies including GenAi, Blockchain, and Graph databases to detail a product’s sustainability, environmental impact, and recyclability.

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