Dive Brief:
- Amazon has introduced Help Me Decide, an AI-powered shopping tool designed to help customers choose between multiple similar items, the company announced Thursday.
- Help Me Decide offers customers personalized recommendations based on their browsing activity, searches, shopping history and preferences. The recommendations include an explanation of why the chosen product is right for the shopper.
- A Help Me Decide button appears on product detail pages after viewing several similar items. Customers can access the tool by tapping “Keep shopping for” at the top of their homepage.
Dive Insight:
Amazon is introducing Help Me Decide at a time when AI is playing a growing role in product research.
About 7 in 10 consumers say they are open to using generative AI guidance, and comparing products was the top use case, according to Coveo research. The same study found that nearly one-quarter of consumers start their product and gift searches on Amazon or another marketplace.
Help Me Decide allows customers to explore beyond its initial recommendations as well. Customers can choose to compare an upgrade pick and a budget option, as well as the suggested item.
Amazon’s other AI-powered research tools include Shopping Guides, which create curated landing pages that aim to deliver relevant products and information based on search queries, and Rufus, a conversational shopping assistant that can provide product details and access previous orders, among other capabilities.
CX experts from Capgemini urge retailers to integrate AI into their existing experiences rather than tacking new steps onto existing journeys. Tools like Help Me Decide, which are focused on personalization, could be in line with such a future.
