It’s clear that not everyone is sold on the merits of artificial intelligence. We come across plenty of positive stories, such as the technology being used to revolutionize healthcare and, ultimately, save lives. Yet, there are plenty of examples where sentiment leans negative: the AI slop appearing on social media; the power-hungry data centers; the frustration when dealing with a bot instead of a human in online customer service.
However, the consensus is that there will be practical benefits to AI, from bots that will organize our emails to carrying out tasks on the web, including shopping. The latter is one of the more interesting use cases involving AI agents, i.e., autonomous tools that can act on our behalf to buy products.
Right now, Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity (an AI search and answer engine), and Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus have shopping capabilities, allowing you to compare prices, find products best matching your descriptions or photos, and answer any questions you may have about them. It works well, but it will likely go further with agentic AI.
The promise that we will all have AI agents shopping for us on the open web is not a great stretch. It’s already possible, though most AI apps and tools in this province tend to be more suited to tech experts. Yet, it’s abundantly clear that those tools will be consumer-facing soon.
An AI agent can, in theory, do everything that we do on the web. Or at least, it is more apt to say it will be able to do everything we do. As an aside, bot traffic on the web exceeded human traffic last year.
<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lw5Gy881PJ8?si=7LumlbX_K7UIwjof” title=”YouTube video player” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
Nevertheless, if you have a bot that is able to fly through the web almost instantly, and can scan websites to find everything from the cheapest flights to your preferred destination to the most lucrative casino bonus offers for new players, you can appreciate that it would be quite useful for shopping.
Indeed, AI bots will be able to perform several activities at once. Let’s say you started the conversation about an item of clothing worn by a celebrity. You could start by sharing that photo, either asking the AI to find the exact item or find something that looks like it. Then, it could compare prices from around the web, perhaps coming back with some similar alternatives at bargain prices. In theory, you could even ask it to wait until a sale happens to buy the item.
All of this is not far off. Indeed, as mentioned, it already is; it’s just not ready for the “layman” consumer yet. Are there drawbacks? Sure. For a start, a lot of people like shopping on the web. Secondly, not everyone is a fan of AI, and that includes a lot of businesses. Many websites actively block AI bots from their platforms, meaning there may be limits to how effective bots’ shopping talents are.
However, this all feels like it is somehow inevitable. People like Facebook/Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, a man who has overseen hundreds of billions of dollars in investment in AI, believe we will all have multiple agents working on our behalf, and that firmly includes activities like shopping. There may be a bit of disruption and an AI (economic) bubble may burst along the way, but this kind of tool should be available in the years, not decades, to come.
P.S. Before you zip off to your next Internet pit stop, check out these 2 game changers below - that could dramatically upscale your life.
1. Check Out My Book On Enjoying A Well-Lived Life: It’s called "Your To Die For Life: How to Maximize Joy and Minimize Regret Before Your Time Runs Out." Think of it as your life’s manual to cranking up the volume on joy, meaning, and connection. Learn more here.
2. Life Review Therapy - What if you could get a clear picture of where you are versus where you want to be, and find out exactly why you’re not there yet? That’s what Life Review Therapy is all about.. If you’re serious about transforming your life, let’s talk. Learn more HERE.
Think about subscribing for free weekly tools here.
No SPAM, ever! Read the Privacy Policy for more information.
