Can AI chatbots make your holiday shopping easier?

Tired of thinking about what gifts to get everyone this year? Some companies have integrated models infused with newer generative AI technologies, allowing shoppers to seek advice by asking naturally phrased questions like “What’s the best wireless speaker?” Retailers hope consumers use these chatbots, which are typically called shopping assistants - as virtual companions that help them discover or compare products. Perplexity AI added something new to the AI chat-shopping world last month by rolling out a feature on its AI-powered search engine that enables users to ask a question like “What’s the best women’s leather boots?” and then receive specific product results that the San Francisco-based company says are not “It has been adopted at pretty incredible scale,” Mike Mallazzo, an analyst and writer at retail research media company Future Commerce, said. Perplexity AI’s new shopping feature allows users to enter search queries such as “best phone case” and to receive answers derived from various sources, including Amazon and other retailers, such as Best Buy. Shevelenko said retailers and brands need to know they can’t have their products recommended in Perplexity’s search engine because they’re “jamming key words” into their websites or using different techniques to show up better on search results “The way you show up in an answer is by having a better product and better features,” he said.