Amazon’s secret search plan

Today’s big story looks at some massive changes to how you shop for items on Amazon.

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The retail giant is overhauling its search bar with ChatGPT-like features that’ll act as a sort of concierge for customers, offering expert answers and product suggestions.

Dubbed Project Nile, Amazon’s top leaders, including CEO Andy Jassy, view the new search bar as a top priority. Set to be launched in January, Project Nile aims to improve the consumer experience and drive traffic and sales.

Eugene Kim, Insider’s chief tech correspondent, has all the details on what one executive described as a “super confidential” project, including details from internal documents and a town hall meeting for employees.

The plan is Amazon’s most significant push into leveraging generative AI, an area the company has been scrambling to take advantage of over fears of falling behind competitors like Microsoft.

However, Amazon’s overhauled search bar will arguably be the most impactful implementation of generative AI from Big Tech for US consumers thus far. Most US online shoppers (61%) start their product search on Amazon.

How will Amazon sellers try and game the new search bar?

Third-party sellers are a huge part of Amazon, accounting for nearly a quarter of the company’s $514 billion in revenue in 2022, according to e-commerce software maker Jungle Scout. Incorporating an AI-backed search engine leads to questions about the steps third-party sellers will take to ensure their products are more likely to be recommended.

Does recommending products open up Amazon to legal risks?

Eugene’s story touches on how the new search bar might refuse to answer sensitive questions about things like healthcare products. But where will the retail giant draw the line? Answering food-related questions could be tricky if they’re not adequately labeled or the AI misinterprets them. The company plans to use human reviewers and content moderation tools, but it seems unlikely they’d be able to keep pace with the volume of requests.

What does this mean for Alexa?

At first glance, Project Nile might seem like a death knell for Amazon’s virtual assistant, which less than a year ago was described by insiders as a division in crisis. However, Joseph Sirosh serves as VP of Amazon Search and Alexa Shopping, suggesting Alexa could get a much-needed boost from the new search bar.

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Dan DeFrancesco, senior editor and anchor, in New York City. Diamond Naga Siu, senior reporter, in San Diego. Jack Sommers, senior editor, in London. Spriha Srivastava, UK bureau chief and executive editor, in London. Hallam Bullock, editor, in London. Lisa Ryan, executive editor, in New York City.

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