- Amazon's new Help Me Decide feature uses artificial intelligence to analyze your shopping behavior and make product recommendations.
- This feature is available in the US on mobile apps and browsers.
- The AI makes and explains its personalized suggestions using browsing history and customer reviews.
Amazon wants to use AI to reduce the fatigue that online shopping can sometimes cause. The new “Help Me Decide” button, now appearing in the United States on mobile browsers and the Amazon app, promises to get to the point and choose the perfect product to buy. No more endlessly switching between tabs and scrolling through endless reviews.
The button appears after viewing several similar products at the top of the page. Clicking on it will give you a personalized recommendation based on your browsing history, purchasing patterns and existing customer reviews.
And AI will explain why it's the perfect choice for you, including relevant features and links to your past purchases. If you want to weigh your options a little more, it will also show you a cheaper alternative and a more interesting upgrade.
This button is just Amazon's latest attempt to incorporate artificial intelligence into the shopping experience, like the recently released button. Lens Live shopping tool. The button resembles a simplified version of the Interests feature, alerting you to products you might be interested in and personalized information generated by artificial intelligence. “Shopping Guides”. In some ways, it's like having a preset conversation with Amazon's AI shopping assistant Rufus.
But what sets Help Me Decide apart from these tools – and, indeed, from competing AI shopping features offered by the likes of Google Gemini or ChatGPT is his assertiveness. Instead of relying on old suggestions based on what the people who bought something liked, the AI interprets your intentions and narrows down your choices to what seems best for you as an individual. It looks at the context, not just the keywords in the search.
For example, if you've been looking at camera equipment, you won't just recommend more and more cameras. He may suggest special lenses or even frames for the photos you take, as well as positive customer reviews that mention nature photography.
This ability to combine current context with historical behavior could make it one of Amazon's most compelling shopping features. as well as its most subtle influences. The company markets it as a time saver: a way to eliminate indecision and close the loop between intention and action. And frankly, that's exactly what it might be like for many buyers.
But it's worth considering how powerful such nudges can become. You've probably already encountered a more passive version of this system in the form of strange recommendations from Amazon that seem to listen to your most private conversations or the very thoughts in your head. Help Me Decide goes even further by clarifying and identifying the exact product (AI determined) that you were probably going to choose anyway.
For many people this is a dream. Shopping, especially online, can feel like trying to pick your favorite leaf in the forest. No matter how good the filters, reviews, and star ratings are, it can still be overwhelming. So the idea of pressing one button and getting the (correct) answer may seem like magic. The fact that it is accompanied by a written rationale makes it more credible.
But it also shifts shopping from choosing a product to choosing whether to accept the product the AI has chosen for you. It's sort of like hiring a personal shopper, interior decorator, or event planner, but without the human interaction that makes you trust their understanding of your taste. Some people may find this comforting. Others may feel pressured.
There is also the issue of data. The Help Me Decide program relies on deep, individual behavior patterns. Amazon knows what you search for, what you click on, how long you hover over, and what you end up buying. Now it uses this data not only to make recommendations, but also to make selections. The more confident and precise sentences become, the harder it is to know whether your preferences are shaping your behavior or vice versa.
However, from a usability perspective, it's hard to deny the appeal of this feature. Saving time in itself has value. Whether the future of AI-powered shopping will be exciting or scary depends on how you feel about shopping and AI. And even the “Help Me Decide” button can’t choose which attitude suits you best.
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