How Generative AI Will Transform Shopping

Amazon just changed the game for voice-activated commerce. When Alexa launched in 2014, I was on Procter & Gamble's Amazon team and we believed voice-activated shopping was the future. But, it never took off. Why? Because the consumer experience was awful. But now? That’s changing. Amazon just announced a major AI upgrade for Alexa. Alexa+ will be powered by generative AI. This will make voice assisted shopping more intuitive, more personal, and more proactive. - SHOPPING WILL BE SHAPED BY DAILY CONVERSATIONS, NOT JUST SEARCHES: If you ask Alexa for dinner ideas, she’ll start to learn your preferences. So later, when you say, “Alexa, add milk to my cart,” she’ll know you prefer oat milk. - RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE SMARTER AND CONTEXT-AWARE: If you ask Alexa to set a reminder for your kid’s soccer game every Saturday, she’ll remember. So, weeks later, when you say, “Alexa, I need snacks for the team,” she’ll suggest bulk options that fit your preferences. - PERSONALIZATION WILL MOVE BEYOND PAST PURCHASES: Alexa will pick up on lifestyle details like who’s in your household, what activities you do, and even seasonal needs so she can recommend the right products at the right time. - MULTI-STEP PURCHASES WILL FEEL LIKE HAVING A PERSONAL ASSISTANT: Say, “Alexa, we’re going to the beach this weekend. What should I bring?” She’ll ask follow-ups, suggest essentials, and build your cart - handling the details so you don’t have to. - BUYING WILL BE PREDICTIVE, NOT REACTIVE: Instead of waiting for you to run out of coffee, Alexa will anticipate when you’ll need more based on past orders, how often your coffee maker runs, if you’ve got guests coming, and other conversations you’ve had. She’ll give you a heads-up before you even think about reordering. How to Take Action TODAY ✅ For Brands - Test Alexa’s Understanding of Your Brand Ask Alexa about your brand, category, and competitors. What is she recommending? If your products aren’t surfacing correctly, refine your product data and positioning to align with AI-driven discovery. ✅ For Brands – Optimize for Conversational AI Alexa+ doesn’t just pull from listings—it answers real-world questions. Ensure your product content clearly communicates features, benefits, and differentiators in a way that AI can understand and recommend. ✅ For Retailers – If Alexa+ is making shopping seamless and predictive within the Amazon ecosystem, retailers outside of Amazon need to rethink how they compete. The biggest risk is losing shopper mindshare if consumers get used to “letting Alexa handle it.” What do you see as the biggest implications of Alexa having generative AI embedded? How do you think it will this shift impact shopping, marketing, and the way consumers interact with brands? See comments for link to Amazon Alexa+ news article. Jessy Stamates Kiri Masters Retail AI Council Sanjay Parihar Marie Matacia Ashley Rozier Charlie Chappell Ilie Ban Phillip Jackson Paul Acerbi Kristy Click Morgan McAlenney

New Andreessen Horowitz thesis - AI x Online Shopping! Shopping used to be a hunt. With AI, it’s ‘God Mode’. AI is transforming online shopping into something intelligent, predictive, and visually intuitive. Instead of searching for products, the right picks come to you — curated, customized, and ready to buy. Here’s how Bryan Kim and I see it playing out 👇 1/ No more “will this look good on me?”: AI try-ons let you see fit, drape, and style on your own digital twin — making shopping visual and data-driven. 2/ From “nothing to wear” to AI-curated style: AI stylists recommend outfits based on your closet, calendar, weather, and taste. 3/ From imagination to inventory: You can now design and refine custom products in real time — AI makes personalization scalable. 4/ AI finds the best deals: Smarter search surfaces affordable alternatives and secondhand picks — matching your style and budget. 5/ Brands connect at scale: LLMs run support, from refunds to shipping — with higher satisfaction and zero wait time. This is just the beginning. What’s next is predictive, personalized shopping powered by fully integrated AI assistants. Outfits are becoming first-class primitives — dynamically styled from what you already own or imagined entirely by AI. For more of our thoughts, check out the full blog post below - and we'd love to hear from you if you're building something here! 👋 https://lnkd.in/gFWB3K9b https://lnkd.in/g99-Caz7

AI has completely changed how I make purchasing decisions. I've used generative AI in both my work and life for over 3 years, and it has become second nature to use in almost anything I'm doing, including buying things! Most people haven't reached this stage of AI adoption, but marketers should pay attention to how early adopters like me use AI to buy. We will give you a window into what's coming for everybody. (It also may give you ideas for your own shopping!) Here are just a few ways AI has influenced my own recent purchase decisions for a trip to Europe I'm taking in a few weeks: 1️⃣. Booking Hotels👉 AI helped identify which neighborhoods to look at staying in for every stop. It took into account our interests, how much time we had in each location, personal sightseeing priorities, what is most important to us, etc.. Then it told me the areas to consider hotels in. In a couple of cities, AI even suggested the specific hotel we ended up booking! 2️⃣. New Luggage 👉I've never used hard-side luggage and didn't know where to start. So, I had a conversation with ChatGPT to understand what to look for. Then I gave multiple AI tools my specific requirements (like what size and features were most important to me) and got brand and model recommendations. Once I'd narrowed it down to two brands I couldn't decide between, I did full pro and con comparisons between the brands, and ChatGPT ultimately helped sway my final decision to buy an Away suitcase. 3️⃣. Shoe shopping 👉I've worn ASICS for years, but have had so many customer service issues with the company that I was ready to kick them to the curb rather than buy a new pair for my trip. So, I chatted with AI to find the best alternative shoes for all the walking we'll do. Four tools gave me the same specific alternative recommendations that I'd probably love, but ChatGPT actually convinced me to stick with my usual shoe model (but buy from REI, rather than direct from Asics). The AI just gave a very strong argument about the risks of changing shoes right before a trip with lots of walking, and convinced me it is not the time to try something new for the first time. I also used the AI to help one of my travel companions find shoes for her unique feet (she has a very hard time finding comfortable shoes). I gave 4 AIs all her criteria, and they each suggested specific shoes to try. I identified the common recommendations, and that gave her a starting point of 3 specific brands and models to actually go try on. 4️⃣. Compression Socks 👉 I knew I needed to buy them for the long flight, but had no idea what to look for. AI laid out what's most important for a flight, and gave me specific brands to look at with the pros and cons of each one. I ended up buying Bombas socks, which AI recommended as a solid option. I love their socks normally, but would never have thought to look at them for compression socks to fly! Has AI changed how you make your buying decisions yet, too?