Amazon launches generative AI tool to answer shoppers’ questions

Amazon
is
rolling
out
an
artificial
intelligence
tool
that
can
answer
shoppers’
questions
about
a
product,
a
spokesperson
confirmed,
as
the
company
continues
to
experiment
with
generative
AI.

The
new
feature
in
Amazon’s
mobile
app
prompts
users
to
ask
questions
about
a
specific
item.
It
then
returns
an
answer
within
a
few
seconds,
primarily
by
summarizing
information
collected
from
product
reviews
and
the
listing
itself.

“We’re
constantly
inventing
to
help
make
customers’
lives
better
and
easier,
and
are
currently
testing
a
new
feature
powered
by
generative
AI
to
improve
shopping
on
Amazon
by
helping
customers
get
answers
to
commonly
asked
product
questions,”
Maria
Boschetti,
an
Amazon
spokesperson,
said
in
an
email.

The
feature
could
keep
shoppers
from
scrolling
through
pages
of
reviews
or
reading
through
a
listing
to
find
information
about
a
product.

Unlike
OpenAI’s
ChatGPT,
Amazon’s
new
feature
isn’t
equipped
to
carry
out
a
conversation,
but
it
can
respond
to
creative
prompts.
On
a
listing
for
a
women’s
vest,
it
could
write
a
haiku
about
the
product.
It
was
also
able
to
describe
the
item
in
the
style
of
Yoda
from
Star
Wars.
The
tool
is
designed
not
to
veer
off
subject,
and
will
return
an
error
message
if
it
can’t
answer
questions
such
as,
“Who
is

Jeff
Bezos?”

The
tool
was
first
spotted
by

Marketplace
Pulse,
an
e-commerce
research
firm.

Amazon
has
introduced
several
AI
tools
to
its
site
in
recent
months.
Last
June,
the
company

started
testing
AI-generated
summaries
of
product
reviews,
and
it
has
launched
AI
features
for
third-party
sellers
that

help
them
write
listings,
as
well
as

generate
photos
for
ads.
Elsewhere,
it
has
rolled
out

“Q,”
an
AI
chatbot
for
companies
to
assist
with
daily
tasks,
and

Bedrock,
a
generative
AI
service
for
Amazon
Web
Services
customers.

In
Amazon’s
latest
earnings
call,
CEO
Andy
Jassy
said
the
company
is
using
generative
AI
to
forecast
inventory
and
to
determine
the
best
last-mile
routes
for
drivers.

“Generative
AI
is
going
to
change
every
customer
experience,
and
it’s
going
to
make
it
much
more
accessible
for
everyday
developers,
and
even
business
users,
to
use,”
Jassy

told
CNBC’s
Jim
Cramer
last
month.
“So
I
think
there’s
going
to
be
a
lot
of
societal
good.”

WATCH:

Cramer
interview
with
Andy
Jassy

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