Amazon is advancing its integration of artificial intelligence to enhance customer shopping experiences. The company has introduced a new feature called "Interests," designed to offer a more personalized and conversational search experience. This feature allows customers to input customized prompts in the search bar that reflect their interests, preferences, and even budget. For instance, users might search for "model kits and accessories for amateur engineers" or "brewing tools and gadgets for coffee enthusiasts."
The "Interests" feature utilizes large language models (LLMs) to convert everyday language into queries that traditional search engines can understand, resulting in more relevant product recommendations. Additionally, the tool operates continuously in the background, notifying users when new products matching their interests become available, and providing updates on related products, restocks, and promotions.
Currently, the "Interests" feature is available to a select group of users in the U.S. through the Amazon shopping app on iOS and Android devices, as well as on the mobile website under the "Me" tab. Amazon plans to expand this feature to more U.S. users in the coming months. This development marks a natural progression in the tech giant's ongoing efforts to integrate AI into its application processes.
The "Interests" feature joins Amazon's existing suite of AI-driven functionalities, including its AI shopping assistant Rufus, AI shopping guides, review summaries, and AI-generated product information. Other companies are likely to follow suit to enhance customer shopping experiences, with some already taking steps in this direction. For example, Google has recently upgraded its shopping tab with a tool called "Vision Match," allowing shoppers to describe their ideal clothing, with AI providing similar recommendations. Google also introduced an AI summary tool for product information.
