Why You Shouldn’t Use AI in Your Marketlife Stallholder Profile

Recently, we’ve noticed an increase in stallholder profiles featuring AI content, and this is why recommend you avoid it.

When applying for markets, your profile is often the first impression we have of your business. It tells us who you are, what you make and why you belong at our events. With hundreds of applications coming through for each market, this small piece of information carries a lot of weight.

Recently, we’ve noticed an increase in stallholders using AI to write and generate images for their profiles. While it might seem like a quick and easy solution, it’s actually doing more harm than good when it comes to your application.

Authenticity Matters

At MarketLife events, we champion locally made, handmade and designed products. Our markets are built on the stories, skills and individuality of small businesses.

When we read a profile that feels generic or overly polished in a way that doesn’t reflect a real person, it raises questions. If the description of your business doesn’t feel genuine, it can make us question the authenticity of your products as well.

That might sound direct, but when our entire brand is built around supporting real makers, authenticity is everything.

Generic Doesn’t Get You Selected

One of the biggest issues with AI-generated descriptions is that they often sound the same.

We review hundreds of applications for every event, and when profiles start to blur together, it becomes much harder to understand what you actually sell. In most cases, we will always choose the business that has taken the time to clearly and personally explain their products over one that feels vague or templated.

When we assess applications, we’re not just looking for good images and descriptions. We’re looking for clarity.

We need to quickly understand:

  • Exactly what you plan to sell at the market (every product or category)
  • How your products are made
  • What your stall will look like
  • Do you have a website and established social media pages 
  • How you fit within the overall market mix

If your product range spans multiple categories, we may ask you to focus on one. For example, Perth Makers Market is strictly handmade, and we carefully manage product categories to maintain this standard.

We also curate each event to avoid direct competition between stalls. If your products are too similar to another accepted business, we may not be able to include both in the same market.

AI-generated descriptions often miss these details. They focus on tone over substance, which might sound polished but doesn’t give us the information we need to make a decision.

A clear, honest description written in your own words will always give you a stronger chance of being selected.

Your Story Is Your Advantage

The biggest thing AI can’t replicate is your story.

Why did you start your business?
What makes your process unique?
What do customers love about your products?

These are the details that make your application stand out. They give us confidence in your brand and help us understand how you’ll connect with our audience on the day.

This is especially important for artists or makers. We strongly encourage you to include images of yourself creating your work. Whether that’s painting, illustrating, sculpting or working in your studio. This not only helps us clearly see that your work is genuinely handmade and created by you (not AI-generated or imported), but it also builds trust in your brand.

It also makes a huge difference when it comes to promotion. Behind-the-scenes images of your process are far more engaging and are exactly the kind of content we look to feature across our social media channels.

When you replace your story with a generic paragraph, or skip showing your process, you’re losing one of your strongest advantages, the personal connection that makes your work meaningful and memorable.


This Applies to Food Vendors Too

This isn’t just about written profiles. We’re seeing a similar issue with food vendor images, where stock photos or restaurant-style plating are being used instead of real photos of your setup.

If you’re a food vendor, it’s essential that you include images of your actual food and how it will be presented at the market. This means takeaway-style presentation, packaging and your real serving format.

We use your images for marketing and social media promotions, and if your photos are stock images or styled for a restaurant setting (e.g. plated on ceramic dishes), they don’t reflect the market experience. In most cases, we won’t use them.

The stronger and more relevant your images are, the more likely you are to be featured across our channels.

The Market Experience

Our events are about connection. Customers come to meet the maker, hear the story and understand what they’re buying.

If your profile and images don’t reflect who you are and what you actually offer, it creates a disconnect before you’ve even been accepted. We want stallholders who can communicate their brand clearly and genuinely, both online and in person.

Your application is the first step in that.


What You Should Do Instead

You don’t need to be a professional writer or photographer to create a strong application.

The best profiles are:

  • Clear
  • Specific
  • Honest

Tell us what you make. Explain how you make it. Show us what your stall and products actually look like.

That’s what helps us understand your business.



We understand that running a small business is time-consuming, and tools like AI can feel helpful. But when it comes to your stallholder profile and imagery, it’s worth taking the extra time to do it properly.

Your profile is not just a formality. It’s a key part of how we select stallholders and promote your business.

If you want to stand out, be selected and get featured, the best thing you can do is keep it real.