The article also mentions that for these AI shopping assistants to truly transform the shopping experience, they need to be deeply personalized and capable of remembering a customer's order history, product preferences, and purchasing habits. Despite the current limitations, the use of AI in online retail is expected to grow, with companies like Victoria’s Secret, IKEA, Instacart, and Canadian retailer Ssense also experimenting with chatbots.
Key takeaways:
- Artificial intelligence chatbots are being used by retailers to enhance customer service and provide product recommendations.
- Amazon's AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, and similar tools from other companies can ask clarifying questions and offer personalized deals, but they can also make mistakes in their recommendations.
- Chatbots are still in their early stages and need to be more personalized and capable of remembering a customer's order history and preferences to truly transform the shopping experience, according to a report by McKinsey & Company.
- There is uncertainty about how companies like Amazon weight different training components in their AI models, and how the chatbots generate their recommendations.