Amazon Experiments With Using AI to Sum Up Product Reviews
Amazon is testing the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to summarize customer feedback on its platform, potentially reducing the time shoppers spend reading reviews before making a purchase.
For instance, on the product page for Apple’s third-generation AirPods, the AI feature now provides a summary of over 4,000 user ratings. It highlights positive feedback about sound quality and battery life but also mentions mixed opinions on performance, durability, fit, comfort, and value of the headphones.
The summary includes a disclaimer stating that it is “AI-generated from the text of customer reviews.”
Amazon stated that it is making significant investments in generative AI across its various businesses, including services like ChatGPT, according to a statement provided to CNN.
This effort, as reported by CNBC, represents Amazon’s latest endeavor to integrate generative AI into its services, aiming to assist customers in quickly assessing the pros and cons of different products. However, there are certain limitations.
The AI-generated wording may not always be intuitive. For example, in the AirPods review, the blurb states that “all customers who mentioned stability had a negative opinion about it.”
As with other generative AI tools trained on vast amounts of online data, concerns exist regarding tone, accuracy, and the potential for generating false details.
Reece Hayden, a senior analyst at ABI Research, points out that due to the probabilistic nature of generative AI, mistakes are possible, and the summaries may not accurately reflect customer reviews. The possibility of “hallucinations” is also a concern for customers and merchants.
There is skepticism about the AI’s ability to identify fraudulent or bot-generated reviews. Reviews of this nature could be treated the same, leading to summaries that reflect fake or non-customer reviews.
Amazon is not the only e-commerce company leveraging generative AI to enhance the shopping experience. Other companies like Shopify and Instacart are also utilizing this technology to inform customers’ purchasing decisions. Additionally, eBay has introduced an AI tool to assist sellers in generating product listing descriptions.
Amazon’s CEO, Andy Jassy, highlighted in a letter to shareholders the company’s ongoing focus on heavy investment in technology across various consumer, seller, brand, and creator experiences. The company is reportedly working on incorporating ChatGPT-like search capabilities into its e-commerce store and is rumored to be developing generative AI for conversational language in a home robot.
Dave Limp, Senior VP of Devices and Services at Amazon, mentioned the interest in bringing generative AI to the virtual assistant Alexa. The aim is to enable users to interact with the technology in a more fluid and natural manner.
