Amazon is set to launch a new search experience on its e-commerce platform, using generative artificial intelligence similar to ChatGPT. This new search functionality is designed to provide users with an interactive, conversational experience, enabling them to ask questions, compare products, and receive personalized suggestions.
According to a recent job posting on Amazon's job board, the company is seeking a senior software development engineer to help deliver this vision to customers. The posting states that Amazon is "reimagining Amazon Search with an interactive conversational experience," which will be a "once in a generation transformation for Search."
Another job posting suggests that Amazon is working on a new AI-first initiative to re-architect and reinvent the way it does search using large-scale next-generation deep learning techniques. This indicates that Amazon is investing heavily in generative AI across all of its businesses, including Alexa voice assistant and advertising campaigns.
Conversational product search has the potential to reshape a critical element of Amazon's core retail business. The search bar at the top of the app and home page has become the default gateway for millions of shoppers seeking to find a specific product. According to a recent survey, more than half of US shoppers start their product searches on Amazon.com, a higher percentage than Google.
While early deployments of generative AI by Microsoft, Google, and others have been beset by errors in response to basic questions, they also show how a beefed-up Microsoft Bing or Google search could offer users a more valuable way to find products. For example, asking Microsoft Bing to show the five best electric razors pulls up a roster of five products, including citations to reviews from Men's Health and GQ, along with links to stores selling the products. In contrast, the same search on Amazon yields a pair of ads, followed by dozens of products.
Generative AI uses vast quantities of data to assemble large language models that can help create text or images following a prompt. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy believes that the technology "presents a remarkable opportunity to transform virtually every customer experience."
By introducing ChatGPT-style product search to its e-commerce platform, Amazon is hoping to provide a more personalized and interactive search experience for its customers. This move could help to address criticisms of the increased share of results devoted to ads and sponsored content in recent years.