Are you feeling overwhelmed trying to choose gifts for everyone this year?Artificial intelligence chatbots may lend a hand, but don't rely on them to do all the work or always offer the perfect solutions. As you hunt for Cyber Monday deals online, you're likely to come across advanced versions of chatbots on some retailers' and e-commerce sites designed to enhance customer service. Several companies have incorporated models with the latest generative AI technologies, enabling shoppers to ask naturally phrased questions such as, "What's the best wireless speaker?" Retailers hope customers will use these chatbots—often called shopping assistants—as virtual aides for discovering or comparing products. Previously, chatbots were mainly used for tasks like tracking orders or processing returns. Amazon, a leader in online retail, introduced Rufus, a generative AI-powered shopping assistant, this year. Customers have used it to inquire about whether a coffee maker is easy to clean or to get recommendations for a lawn game suitable for a child's birthday party. Rufus, available to holiday shoppers in the U. S.

and other countries, isn't the only assistant out there. A select group of Walmart shoppers will try a similar chatbot, being tested in categories like toys and electronics, by the nation's largest retailer. Last month, Perplexity AI introduced a new feature to the chat-shopping landscape, enabling its AI-powered search engine users to ask questions like "What's the best women's leather boots?" and receive specific product results, claims the San Francisco-based company, ensuring no sponsored results. “It has been adopted at pretty incredible scale, ” remarked Mike Mallazzo, an analyst and writer at the retail research media company Future Commerce. Websites and e-commerce firms began focusing more on chatbots after ChatGPT, an AI text chatbot by OpenAI, gained widespread attention in late 2022, sparking interest in the generative AI technology behind it. Companies including Victoria’s Secret, IKEA, Instacart, and the Canadian retailer Ssense are also experimenting with chatbots, some using OpenAI's technology. Before these enhancements, online retailers were already creating product recommendations based on customers' previous purchases or search history. Amazon led the way with recommendations on its platform, so Rufus offering such suggestions isn't particularly groundbreaking.