- Amazon's new “Help me decide” feature uses AI to analyze your purchasing behavior and recommend a product
- The feature is available in the US on mobile apps and browsers.
- AI makes and explains your personalized suggestions using browsing history and customer reviews.
Amazon wants to use AI to reduce the burnout that online shopping can sometimes cause. The new Help Me Decide button, now appearing in the United States on mobile browsers and in the Amazon app, promises to get to the point and choose the ideal product to buy. No more endless tab jumping through endless reviews.
The button appears after you have browsed some similar products at the top of the page. Tapping it will send you to a personalized recommendation based on your browsing history, purchasing patterns, and reviews from existing customers.
And the AI will explain why it's the right choice for you, including relevant features and references to your previous purchases. If you want to weigh your options a little more, it will also show you a cheaper alternative and a more sophisticated upgrade.
The button is just the latest effort by Amazon to incorporate AI into its shopping experience, like the recently launched Lens Live shopping tool. The button resembles a simplified version of the “Interests” feature, which alerts you to products you might be interested in and personalized AI-generated “Buying Guides.” In a way, it's like a pre-arranged conversation with Amazon's AI conversational shopping assistant, Rufus.
But what sets Help Me Decide apart from those tools (and, indeed, from rival AI shopping features offered by companies like Google Gemini or ChatGPT) is its assertiveness. Instead of relying on old suggestions based on what people who bought something also liked, AI interprets your intent and narrows things down to what seems to be best for you as an individual. Analyze the context, not just the keywords of a search.
For example, if you've been looking for photography equipment, it won't just recommend more and more cameras. I might suggest special lenses or even frames for the photos you take, and strong customer reviews mention nature photography.
That ability to combine current context with historical behavior could make it one of Amazon's most persuasive shopping features yet. and also its more subtle influence. The company positions it as a time saver: a way to eliminate indecision and close the loop between intention and action. And to be fair, that's exactly what it could be for many buyers.
But it's worth dwelling on how powerful this kind of push could be. You've probably already experienced a more passive version of this system in the form of those strange Amazon recommendations that seem to have listened to your most private conversations or the same thoughts in your head. Help Me Decide goes further by being specific and identifying the exact product (AI determines) you would probably choose anyway.
For many people, this is a dream come true. Shopping, especially online, can be like trying to pick a favorite leaf in a forest. No matter how good the filters, reviews, and star ratings are, it can still be exhausting. So the idea of pressing a button and getting the (correct) answer may seem like magic. The fact that it comes with a written justification makes it more reliable.
But it also shifts shopping from choosing the product to choosing whether or not to accept the product the AI chose for you. That's kind of like hiring a personal shopper, interior decorator, or event planner, but without the human interactions that lead you to trust their understanding of your tastes. Some people may find this comforting. Others may feel pressured.
There is also the question of data. Help Me Decide is based on deep, individualized patterns of behavior. Amazon knows what you search for, what you click on, how much time you spend, and what you ultimately buy. Now, use that data not only to recommend, but also to select. The more confident and precise the suggestions are, the harder it is to know whether your preferences are shaping your behavior, or the other way around.
Still, from a usability standpoint, it's hard to deny the feature's appeal. The time savings alone is valuable. Whether the future of AI-powered shopping sounds exciting or ominous depends on your relationship with shopping and AI. And not even the Help Me Decide button can choose which attitude best suits you.
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