Amazon has launched a novel AI feature designed to summarize product feedback. Initially available to a segment of mobile users in the U.S. for a wide range of products, this AI mechanism offers a succinct paragraph capturing the primary sentiments from customer reviews. While the company hinted at this AI-driven tool’s development back in June, it’s now officially in deployment. CEO Andy Jassy emphasized the central role of AI in Amazon’s operations earlier this month.
The primary objective behind this machine learning-powered summary is to provide shoppers a quick insight into general user feedback, sparing them the time-consuming task of sifting through numerous reviews. This condensed version draws parallels with the “Critics consensus” or “Audience says” snippets seen on platforms like Rotten Tomatoes. An example shared by Amazon highlighted comments such as: “Customers appreciate the device’s stability, user-friendliness, and performance. They find it notably faster, with excellent streaming capabilities, and praise its easy connectivity. Its compatibility with the LG 3D smart TV also garnered positive remarks.”
Additionally, the summary offers clickable tags, echoing the most recurring themes and keywords from the reviews. This feature, somewhat mirroring Amazon’s existing keyword tool, navigates users directly to comprehensive reviews addressing specific themes.
However, concerns around Amazon’s history with fraudulent reviews loom large. While the company claims to have proactively blocked an estimated 200 million suspected fake reviews in 2022 and has taken legal actions against perpetrators, it’s evident that not all dubious reviews get intercepted. The emergence of AI-created fake reviews, potentially using platforms like ChatGPT, may pose detection challenges for Amazon.
Addressing these concerns, Amazon plans to restrict the new summary tool to verified purchases. Furthermore, they’ll employ AI algorithms designed to identify suspicious reviews, while also resorting to human experts for verification. Amazon Community Shopping Director, Vaughn Schermerhorn, emphasized the company’s ongoing efforts against fake reviews: “Our approach combines machine learning that scrutinizes myriad data points for risk factors and expert investigators equipped with advanced fraud detection mechanisms. Our new AI-summarized review highlights strictly draw from verified purchase reviews, ensuring customers receive a genuine snapshot of community feedback.”
