Amazon is further integrating artificial intelligence into its shopping tools to encourage increased customer purchases. The company announced a new feature called “Interests” on Wednesday, designed to enhance the personalization and interactivity of the search experience for users.
The new feature allows customers to input customized prompts in the search bar, reflecting their interests, preferences, and budget constraints. For instance, users might request “model building kits and accessories for hobbyist engineers” or “brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers.”
Interests utilizes large language models (LLMs) to translate everyday language into search engine queries, resulting in more relevant product suggestions. Additionally, the feature operates continuously in the background, notifying users when new items matching their interests are available, and offering updates on related products, restocks, and promotions.
Currently, the Interests feature is accessible 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. The company plans to extend this access to more U.S. customers in the following months.
The introduction of the Interests feature marks a natural progression for the tech giant as it continues to incorporate AI into its platform. This feature joins other AI-driven tools on Amazon, such as its AI shopping assistant Rufus, AI Shopping Guides, review summaries, AI-generated product information, and more.
Many companies are expected to adopt similar strategies to enhance the shopping experience, with some having already started these integrations. Google, for instance, has recently updated its Shopping tab to include a “Vision Match” tool. This tool enables shoppers to describe a garment they envision, with AI suggesting similar items based on the description. Google also launched an AI summary tool to provide detailed product information.
