AI has already taken over Hollywood studios, classrooms and sex robots. In a few months, she could also decide for you on your next purchases. While Shein has already announced a predictive tool boosted with artificial intelligence to estimate its next trends, the e-commerce giant Amazon is now targeting your basket. A few days ago, the brand launched its own purchasing guides entirely generated by AI. Hundreds of product types are already accessible on the American version of the site, report our colleagues at TechCrunch. From connected televisions to dog food, shoes and anti-aging creams, everything goes there.
Amazon wants it both ways
The company knows that it has a big stake in these purchasing guides. Usually, this type of content is written by third-party companies, who are paid through a affiliate link : for each product consulted or purchased by Internet users, they receive a commission on the final sale price. This commission does not increase the price of the product on the consumer side, but cuts into the reseller’s margin. Amazon therefore has every interest in operating internally for its buying guides.
On a purely human level, however, Amazon is shooting itself in the foot. More than simple AI-generated buying guides, the success of this type of production relies on the feeling of trust that the Internet user has with the media or content creator who published it. This parasocial link notably assures readers that the author has tested and approved the product in question, without having any interest in promoting this one rather than another. In the case of Amazon, the buying guides will not be written by humans, and this is perhaps precisely what will be blocking the general public.
A truly neutral tool?
Available for the moment only from the Amazon mobile application, this new content category should however make it possible to obtain a clear and precise vision of the characteristics of a product, when the latter is placed against the competition. According to Daniel Lloyd, head of personalization at Amazon, the project is still “in its beginnings“, but it will ultimately allow “reduce the time spent researching before making a purchase“.
Ultimately, the company wants to go even further, by completely automating the process. All you have to do is give your desire and your budget to a chatbot, so that it can find you the best purchasing option based on your criteria. It remains that the question of Amazon’s impartiality arises: the company has already been singled out for having promoted its own products rather than third-party manufacturers. There is therefore no guarantee that it will be able to remain neutral in the event of a conflict of interest.
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