Amazon began rolling out a U.S. feature that displays AI-generated images in real-time when shoppers type product queries into the search bar, meant to illustrate concepts and refine searches rather than showcase actual items for sale. The goal is to help shoppers who don't know the precise terminology for what they want, such as “cowl neck” for a draped collar or “rattan” for woven furniture, with tapping an image leading to more tailored results instead of specific products.
Reporters threw a lot of shade at this feature:
- PPC Land called it a “trust experiment nobody asked for.”
- TechCrunch said “it's somewhat bananas for a retailer to make up fake products as a way of guiding users to search results,” claiming that it could be “potentially misleading” because customers may “think they’re being directed to a page where they could find that exact dress, then be disappointed when it isn’t available.”
- 9to5Google called the feature “wildly wasteful in terms of the use of AI resources” and “remarkably dumb.”
- Thurrott was unconvinced, writing, “I'm not exactly sure how showing fake products to potential customers can really drive sales.”
Other critics questioned why Amazon would generate fake product images when millions of real catalog photos exist, and warned that shoppers could fixate on an AI image only to find the item isn't actually for sale.
Personally, I think the feature is quite innovative and helpful!
One complaint I've had with AI chatbots thus far is that despite having the ability to ask qualifying questions before spitting out a giant wall of text — they don't. ChatGPT especially will go off the rails with long, detailed answers before fully understanding my search intent, when it could easily generate a quiz or follow-up questions before burning through tokens. (Claude has gotten good at doing this in recent months.)
Plus, as a shopper who admittedly doesn't know all the words for the various styles of fashion or home goods, I appreciate a visual representation of what I'm trying to search for. The classic quote “a picture is worth a thousand words” is particularly true when shopping online. This is why Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wants to build his own AI lab that focuses on UI and design for travel and e-commerce. More on that in Section #9.
Lastly, in regard to misleading customers, Amazon couldn't make it more obvious that these are not real products, with a section title of “Find products that look like these AI images” and then labeling each thumbnail “AI Image” for added disclosure. Though to be fair, an estimated 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. are functionally illiterate, so written disclosures only get you so far. But then again, that could also be an argument for needing more visuals.
In addition to the real-time AI images, Amazon announced 7 other visual shopping features, some of which I've covered in previous editions, and others that are new.
