AI personal shoppers hunt down bargain buys
Internet giants are diving deeper into e-commerce with digital aides that know shoppers' likes, let them virtually try clothes on, hunt for deals and even place orders.
The rise of virtual personal shoppers springs from generative artificial intelligence (AI) being put to work in "agents" specializing in specific tasks and given autonomy to complete them independently.
"This is basically the next evolution of shopping experiences," said CFRA Research analyst Angelo Zino.
Google last week unveiled shopping features built into a new "AI Mode".
It can take a person's own photo and meld it with that of a skirt, shirt or other piece of clothing spotted online, showing how it will look on them.
The AI adjusts the clothing size to fit, accounting for how fabrics drape, according to Google head of advertising and commerce Vidhya Srinivasan.
Shoppers can then set the price they would pay and leave the AI to relentlessly browse the internet for a deal -- alerting the shopper when it finds one, and asking if it should buy using Google's payment platform.
"They're taking on Amazon a little bit," Techsponential analyst Avi Greengart said of Google.
The tool is also a way to make money from AI by increasing online traffic and opportunities to show ads, Greengart added.
The Silicon Valley tech titan did not respond to a query regarding whether it is sharing in revenue from shopping transactions.
- Bartering bots? -
OpenAI added a shopping feature to ChatGPT earlier this year, enabling the chatbot to respond to requests with product suggestions, consumer reviews and links to merchant websites.
Perplexity AI late last year began letting subscribers pay for online purchases without leaving its app.
Amazon in April added a "Buy for Me" mode to its Rufus digital assistant, allowing users to command it to make purchases at retailer websites off Amazon's platform.
Walmart head of technology Hari Vasudev recently spoke about adding an AI agent to the retail behemoth's online shopping portal, while also working with partners to make sure their digital agents keep Walmart products in mind.
Global payment networks Visa and Mastercard in April each said their technical systems were modernized to allow payment transactions by digital agents.
"As AI agents start to take over the bulk of product discovery and the decision-making process, retailers must consider how to optimize for this new layer of AI shoppers," said Elise Watson of Clarkston Consulting.
Retailers are likely to be left groping in the dark when it comes to what makes a product attractive to AI agents, according to Watson.
- Knowing the customer -
Analyst Zino does not expect AI shoppers to cause an e-commerce industry upheaval, but he does see the technology benefitting Google and Meta.
Not only do the Internet rivals have massive amounts of data about their users, but they are also among frontrunners in the AI race.
"They probably have more information on the consumer than anyone else out there," Zino said of Google and Meta.
Tech company access to data about users hits the hot-button issue of online privacy and who should control personal information.
Google plans to refine consumer profiles based on what people search for and promises that shoppers will need to authorize access to additional information such as email or app use.
Trusting a chatbot with one's buying decisions may spook some people, and while the technology might be in place the legal and ethical framework for it is not.
"The agent economy is here," said PSE Consulting managing director Chris Jones.
"The next phase of e-commerce will depend on whether we can trust machines to buy on our behalf."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Customer films ‘scary' new AI feature at Hungry Jack's
A fast food customer was left shocked after driving into a Hungry Jack's drive-through, only to be greeted by an AI (artificial intelligence) voice assistant. He took to TikTok to document the bizarre experience in a clip that has since gone viral with nearly 400k views. The video begins with the AI robot speaking to the driver through a digital screen. 'What can I get you?' the female voice assistant asks. The driver, shocked, replies, 'Are you AI?' to which it responded, 'I'm Hungry Jacks' virtual helper'. He then mumbles under his breath, 'That's so cooked,' and proceeds with his order – a large ultimate double whopper meal. @pnuks Rip teenagers wanting a job at @Hungry Jack's 🥲😅💀 ai aijobs hungryjacks hungryjacksfreeglass work employed drivethru ♬ original sound - pnuks The AI assistant confirms, 'Did you want double whopper?' and the customer clarifies he wants the large ultimate double whopper. The robot responds casually, 'Sure,' before asking if he wants his meal with Coke. 'Oh God no,' he replies, taken aback by the drink suggestion. He asks for an orange juice with no ice, and the assistant says, 'Okay,' before he adds another cheeseburger to his order. The AI helper then asks if there's anything else the driver wants before displaying the total bill on the screen and instructing him to go to the next window. 'God, that's so scary,' he says before ending the clip. He wrote in the caption: 'They just installed this last week'. Hungry Jack's confirmed the news, telling that the trial is happening in one specific Sydney store only. 'Hungry Jack's is trialling a new digital voice-activated customer ordering system at the St Peters restaurant drive-through,' a statement read. 'The test aims to determine the effectiveness of the technology in delivering service improvements. Customer feedback will be sought during the trial period. 'It is anticipated that the trial will be rolled out to additional restaurants in the coming months.' In the comments of the clip, many viewers expressed their unease at the new technology, with several echoing the customer's own reaction of being 'scared' by the robot. Some users joked about the end of an era for teenage fast-food jobs, saying: 'How will kids get job experience with these jobs being replaced?' 'You can't convince me all this investment in AI is cheaper than paying real wages,' someone else wrote. Others were outright against the change, with one user saying, 'I hate it' and 'We are doomed'. 'I'm turning into a boomer and driving straight to the window because absolutely not am I doing that,' someone else admitted. 'I hate AI, it's a joke,' another naysayer wrote. 'This is so sad,' another noted, as someone else declared, 'We do not need this'. Others raised accessibility concerns: 'People with accents, we are going to have a hard time with this! Even Siri struggles to understand me'. Meanwhile, some said they were unimpressed with the AI assistant's 'attitude'. 'It's so slow!' quipped one. 'Why is it so rude?' another asked. 'It's so passive aggressive with the 'okay',' said yet another TikToker. However, others were more on board with the concept and even thought the AI was polite. 'I like that she didn't rush you,' said one. Someone else pointed out that the technology will be great to reduce the amount of staff who have to work overnight. It comes after McDonald's ended its test of AI chatbots at drive-throughs in 100 locations around the US in July last year. The burger chain removed the AI-based order systems, giving no public reason for ending its test run, according to Restaurant Business. But it came amid reports of a string of mistakes with diners' meals – with customers saying they often received things they didn't order, according to The New York Post. Some of the mistakes included adding nine sweet teas to one customer's order and giving another customer an ice cream cone with bacon on top. Just months later, KFC Australia began trialling AI drive-through technology in five restaurants across the country, including South Penrith, Wetherill Park, Mt Druitt, Minto, and Frenchs Forest. Its name was Kacy, but despite the personification, the chain assured no jobs were being replaced by the technology. It appears to still be up and running, according to users on TikTok. In October, Australia's healthy fast-food chain Oliver's also introduced an AI drive-through assistant, Ollie, in a bid to shorten wait times. According to QSR, it is the world's first 'contextually aware' AI drive-through order taker. This means it can engage in unscripted, natural conversations and understands a wide range of accents and dialects.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Telco partnership opens AI-powered search to the masses
Millions of Australians will be offered unlimited access to an AI-powered search engine in a move that could spark fresh competition among artificial intelligence platforms. Optus launched the deal with US firm Perplexity on Monday, becoming the first local telecommunications provider to package premium AI subscriptions with its plans. The move mirrors deals in other countries but also comes after the Business Council of Australia called for action to boost the development of AI regulation, support and training to turn the nation into a global AI leader by 2028. Optus will give small business and individual customers access to Perplexity Pro for 12 months under the deal, which chief customer officer Anthony Shiner said could boost the number of Australians using the technology. "AI take-up in Australia is quite low," he told AAP. "Knowing that AI, in some parts of the world, is being offered free to all citizens ... the time is right here in Australia for us to partner with a high-quality product and start the journey of revolution that we think AI will bring into everyday lives." More than half of Australians have used generative AI services (54 per cent), according to a survey by Deloitte Insights, but its reach is significantly higher in the Asia Pacific region (67 per cent). Rather than offer a chatbot service like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, Perplexity will deliver a web search engine that can tap into other AI models for answers. Users will be able to ask the service complex queries with follow-up questions, Perplexity business vice-president Ryan Foutty said, or set it tasks such as creating a travel itinerary or coding a basic game. Search results appear alongside their sources of information, he said, but were not presented with advertisements and links, offering users a different type of online experience. "People want a simple, easy-to-use experience that's not cluttered like traditional search has been but also is not influenced by who is willing to pay the most amount of money to get in front of you," he said. "We're excited about Australia because historically we've seen Australia be very early to adopt new technology." Perplexity AI launched a similar deal through a partnership with Optus' parent company Singtel in Singapore and with German provider Deutsche Telekom in January. Rival AI provider Google has offered subscriptions to its Gemini chatbot through Samsung and its own smartphones in the past, while Apple teamed with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT into its AI platform. Optus' announcement comes after the Business Council of Australia called for the nation to seize the opportunity presented by artificial intelligence technology and introduce support, training and regulations to encourage its use.
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Telco partnership opens AI-powered search to the masses
Millions of Australians will be offered unlimited access to an AI-powered search engine in a move that could spark fresh competition among artificial intelligence platforms. Optus launched the deal with US firm Perplexity on Monday, becoming the first local telecommunications provider to package premium AI subscriptions with its plans. The move mirrors deals in other countries but also comes after the Business Council of Australia called for action to boost the development of AI regulation, support and training to turn the nation into a global AI leader by 2028. Optus will give small business and individual customers access to Perplexity Pro for 12 months under the deal, which chief customer officer Anthony Shiner said could boost the number of Australians using the technology. "AI take-up in Australia is quite low," he told AAP. "Knowing that AI, in some parts of the world, is being offered free to all citizens ... the time is right here in Australia for us to partner with a high-quality product and start the journey of revolution that we think AI will bring into everyday lives." More than half of Australians have used generative AI services (54 per cent), according to a survey by Deloitte Insights, but its reach is significantly higher in the Asia Pacific region (67 per cent). Rather than offer a chatbot service like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, Perplexity will deliver a web search engine that can tap into other AI models for answers. Users will be able to ask the service complex queries with follow-up questions, Perplexity business vice-president Ryan Foutty said, or set it tasks such as creating a travel itinerary or coding a basic game. Search results appear alongside their sources of information, he said, but were not presented with advertisements and links, offering users a different type of online experience. "People want a simple, easy-to-use experience that's not cluttered like traditional search has been but also is not influenced by who is willing to pay the most amount of money to get in front of you," he said. "We're excited about Australia because historically we've seen Australia be very early to adopt new technology." Perplexity AI launched a similar deal through a partnership with Optus' parent company Singtel in Singapore and with German provider Deutsche Telekom in January. Rival AI provider Google has offered subscriptions to its Gemini chatbot through Samsung and its own smartphones in the past, while Apple teamed with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT into its AI platform. Optus' announcement comes after the Business Council of Australia called for the nation to seize the opportunity presented by artificial intelligence technology and introduce support, training and regulations to encourage its use.
