Dive Brief:
- Amazon is piloting short-form audio product summaries on select pages, the e-commerce giant announced on May 21.
- Amazon Shopping app users can listen to generative AI-powered audio summaries on product details pages by clicking a “Hear the Highlights” button. A brief audio conversation about important product features will then play to help customers with purchasing decisions.
- The audio summaries are currently available to select U.S. consumers on a subset of products, but Amazon plans to further roll out the feature in the coming months.
Dive Insight:
Amazon’s audio summary feature is part of the company’s broader integration of AI tools into shopping experiences.
In 2023, Amazon began piloting customer review summaries which use generative AI to synthesize reviews from verified customers. Continuing its AI push, the company rolled out Rufus, its generative AI-backed shopping assistant, to all U.S. customers using the Amazon Shopping app. With Rufus, shoppers can view previous orders, ask about product updates, compare items and review product details.
Amazon’s new audio feature uses large language models to create scripts which describe products using details from the company’s product catalog, customer reviews and other information available across the internet, Amazon said in its announcement.
“These AI shopping experts have done the research for you …bringing product details to life and allowing customers to simply hear the highlights,” Rajiv Mehta, vice president of search and conversational shopping at Amazon, wrote in the announcement. “The feature makes product research fun and convenient — it’s like having helpful friends discuss potential purchases to make your shopping easier, even if you’re multitasking or on the go.”
Amazon doesn’t plan to pull back on AI anytime soon. During the company’s Q1 earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the retailer will continue to heavily invest in AI tools, including AI agents. Among its other AI investments is Alexa+, an enhanced version of its Alexa home assistant.