Amazon (AMZN) is bringing generative AI to its shopping app through its new Rufus chatbot. I’ve used a fair amount of generative AI apps in the past, but they were mostly focused on easing the burden of searching the web, helping me compose emails, and creating PowerPoints. .
However, Rufus is designed to make shopping faster and easier by providing answers to questions about product categories and individual items. The chatbot is trained on Amazon’s product catalog and web data and appears as a tab at the bottom of the Amazon Shopping app, accessed by swiping up. It does not replace the regular search bar at the top of the screen. rather, it serves as a means of extending it.
Of course, if Rufus catches on with consumers, it would be a big win for Amazon. That’s because chatbots could cause users to spend more time on Amazon’s shopping app, less time looking up information about products on Google (GOOG, GOOGL), and potentially buy products through competing online stores.
I tried an early beta version of Rufus to see how well it worked. It’s not perfect, but it does make shopping for things like video games, cat food, and weight lifting equipment easier.
My car needed wipers, so I typed “wipers” into the search bar at the top of the screen. Rufus then pops a small box at the bottom of the screen asking “What types of windshield wipers are available?” and “How do I choose the right windshield wiper size for my car?” Follow-up questions are suggested, such as “?”. “What features should I look for when purchasing wipers?”
Tap on a suggestion to get the appropriate answer. For example, tap “What features should I look for when buying wipers?” They gave me a list of things to consider, including blade type, blade size, wiper rubber quality, and adapter type. Fascinating stuff, I know. But if you’re tired of your wipers squeaking like nails on a chalkboard every time it rains, you’ll want to know about these things.
I also had to purchase a game called Final Fantasy VII Remake. The problem is that there are several versions of this game on the market, and it can be difficult to decide which one to buy. So I decided to see if Rufus could distinguish between versions of the game. And, to my surprise, it did just that.
Not only was Rufus able to tell the difference between the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 versions of the game, he also recognized the difference between the basic and expanded versions of the game.
However, this is where Rufus stumbles. One of his follow-up questions provided by the chatbot was, “What are the best weapons and armor to get in Final Fantasy 7 Remake?” The chatbot gave me a basic overview of how to choose weapons and armor in the game, and how to select the items I needed. It had the effect of exploiting enemy weaknesses, but then the option to purchase action figures of Final Fantasy VII characters and seemingly unrelated wigs was brought up.
Bot made a comeback when I started looking for weight plates for my home gym, offering the pros and cons of metal and rubber plates, metal plates last longer, but rubber plates cause less damage to the floor. I explained. This type of insight can be very helpful for people who are just starting out with lifting and aren’t sure what type of plates to buy.
But when I changed the question to “What is the difference between a metal plate and a rubber plate?”, I got confused and got a search option for metal dining plates, but not for metal weightlifting plates. An explanation has been displayed.
We also looked into the items you should buy for your trip to Ireland. When we asked Rufus, “What should I buy before I leave for my holiday to Ireland?”, the bot provided an Ireland travel guidebook, a lightweight rain jacket, a sweater, walking shoes, and a power adapter. Rufus also explained each proposal, noting that Ireland’s climate is rainy and that even in summer, nighttime temperatures can be quite cool.
When I tapped on additional questions to ask about popular tourist attractions and destinations in Ireland, Rufus gave me information about specific areas such as the Cliffs of Moher and the Giant’s Causeway. The app then provided information about each region and allowed you to purchase books and movies related to that region.
Finally, I asked Rufus for the cheapest paper towels. But rather than giving me a direct answer showing me the cheapest product, the bot gave me a list of popular paper towel brands and a brief description of them. It wasn’t exactly what I expected.
Although Rufus is not perfect, we have found that the AI chatbot can help with certain purchasing decisions. No, I couldn’t answer all of my questions, but Amazon is careful to label bots as beta software. There are also thumb and thumb buttons that you can select to rate Rufus’ responses.
More generally, I think apps like Rufus are most useful as early applications of generative AI technology. Sure, email drafts and web searches are useful, but a bot that quickly analyzes the differences between a few products and makes purchasing decisions easier is far more interesting.
daniel howley I’m the technology editor at Yahoo Finance. He has been covering the technology industry since his 2011. You can follow him on Twitter. @Daniel Howley.
Click here for the latest technology news impacting the stock market.
Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance
