AI in Apparel & Textiles: From Hype to Helpful, What Actually Works Today?
AI in Apparel & Textiles: From Hype to Helpful, What Actually Works Today?
Agenda
- 0:00 — Reminders and Introductions
- 2:34 — Leigh Schmid Explains Why AI Is Getting Bored-Level Attention
- 5:43 — Where Apparel Companies Are Using AI
- 9:36 — Where Expectations Are Ahead of Reality
- 11:43 — What Leaders Should Require
- 15:27 — Why Trade Planning Is Finally Getting Attention
- 17:19 — Leigh Schmid’s Final Thoughts
- 19:36 — Todd Smith Discusses AI’s Uses in Apparel and Textiles
- 21:41 — AI’s Strengths Today
- 24:45 — Is “Fully Automated” AI Trade Compliance a Myth?
- 29:48 — Having a Human-in-the-Loop & Ruling HQ 350722
- 35:04 — Examples of AI in Textile Trade
- 51:34 — Questions
Presenters
Leigh Schmid
Leigh Schmid brings decades of global trade and customs expertise to KYG, with leadership experience across consulting, retail, and international policy.
Todd R. Smith, LCB
Todd R. Smith is a US Licensed Customs Broker and the founder and inventor of KYG Trade (KYG). Before forming KYG, Todd served as a partner and provided trade and customs consulting services to the…
AI in Global Trade Compliance: Where We Are Now
AI is now receiving immediate board-level attention due to tariff volatility, increased enforcement activity, rising supply chain costs, and competitive pressures. Apparel companies successfully deploy AI for critical customs tasks like product classification, origin analysis, and First Sale for Export, alongside risk analysis, brand protection, and daily store operations.
Leigh Schmid emphasizes that business expectations often outpace reality. Because large language model outputs can appear highly confident yet remain incorrect, AI cannot replace subject matter experts (SMEs), making strict controls essential to mitigate harmful hallucinations. Before making decisions, leaders must consider a clear expected return on investment, defined use cases, deep workflow integration, and rigorous data governance protocols.
The Using AI Tools Effectively With Being Probabilistic
What You’ll Learn
The Historical Picture:
HQ 350722:
Why Precision Matters:
