Amazon Introduces AI-Generated Product Reviews: How Is It Helping Shoppers?

Amazon has launched a ground-breaking generative AI function intended to deliver concise summaries of product evaluations to transform the way consumers purchase and quickly provide insightful information. This innovative technology, tested earlier this year, empowers buyers by providing essential product information before reviewing reviews.

Advanced AI algorithms are used in this function to identify repeating themes in customer evaluations, and these topics are then condensed into brief summaries, according to AP News. Customers can now efficiently obtain key product takeaways via a concise paragraph prominently displayed on the product description page, saving them from going through several individual reviews to find them.

According to a recent blog post by Amazon, the AI-generated review summary function is presently available to a limited number of mobile buyers in the United States. The first release will expand to serve additional consumers and product categories in the following months. The Director of Community Shopping at Amazon, Vaughn Schermerhorn, emphasized that customer input and preferences will guide the development of this technology.

Catching Up in The AI Race

Amazon's unrelenting dedication to incorporating AI into its products is apparent as it takes a competitive position in generative AI. Amazon's strategy is to provide services that enable developers to create their own generative AI tools using the company's robust cloud infrastructure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), instead of releasing high-profile AI chatbots or imaging tools.

In April, Amazon introduced Titan, a family of massive language models, and Bedrock, a tool to let developers use generative AI to improve software, per CNBC.

In a letter to shareholders earlier this year, Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, emphasized the crucial significance of generative AI and called it a "significant endeavor" for the business. During an investor results call, he revealed Amazon's pursuit of various generative AI efforts across all its business areas, including the devices segment that makes Alexa.

Amazon Adjusts Seller Fund Withholding After Backlash

The tech giant has taken action to return withheld payments to these merchants in response to mounting complaints from sellers in the UK and EU over unexpected fund holds. BBC investigations that revealed how some businesses were in danger of financial instability due to Amazon's actions served as the impetus for the move.

Amazon informed a small group of sellers of its intention to postpone the temporary withholding of cash until January 2024 to resolve vendor complaints. Some vendors, like Daniel Moore, an ink provider with $291,000 frozen, believe that this delay will increase the financial burden that Amazon's actions have caused.

In an email sent over the weekend to a seller, Amazon recognized the cash flow issues brought on by the policy change on August 3. In the email, Amazon extended the policy transition time to January 31, 2024, to help impacted merchants.

Amazon's updated policy, first announced in May, said that cash from sellers will be momentarily held to satisfy prospective consumer refund claims. According to this guideline, sellers may only retrieve their money after the delivery date and a further seven days.

For merchants registered before August 2016, the updated policy went into effect in the UK and the EU on August 3. Unfortunately, Amazon's notice about this policy change ended up in many merchants' trash email boxes.