AI Assistant Shops for Robot Vacuum, Skips Major Review Sites
A test found that a personal AI assistant's product recommendations were based on a limited set of sources, excluding major review publications and key retailers like Amazon.
A recent test by Fast Company revealed how personal AI assistants select products, with one user asking the AI 'Jones' to choose a robot vacuum. The AI provided a limited number of recommendations, directing the user to purchase through specific links. However, its selection process bypassed several prominent review sites and a major e-commerce platform.
Jones indicated it consulted both retail sites and review roundups, heavily favoring 'Vacuum Wars,' a site known for extensive hands-on testing. Other sources cited included a site that repackaged 'Vacuum Wars' data and an AI-generated listicle from an aromatherapy blog. Notably absent were recommendations from established publications like Wirecutter, PCMag, and Consumer Reports.
The exclusion of these major review sites may stem from their efforts to block AI crawlers or protect proprietary content, as suggested by actions from The New York Times and Ziff Davis. Consumer Reports also keeps its full ratings behind a paywall, limiting accessibility for AI analysis.
Furthermore, the AI directed purchases toward retailers such as Best Buy and Target, but completely omitted Amazon. This exclusion occurred because Amazon had blocked Meta's Muse service, the provider of Jones, from transacting on its platform. While Meta had planned for in-app purchases to be a revenue source, the test showed no direct tracking or revenue generation at that time.
This experiment highlights a potential divergence in how product recommendations are generated by AI compared to the open web, impacting publishers reliant on affiliate links and potentially creating a less comprehensive user experience.