How would you feel if you opened a holiday gift from someone close to you and they told you AI picked it out? This hypothetical event might become a somewhat frequent occurrence this holiday season as companies roll out AI tools to help holiday shoppers.
ChatGPT now has a feature that provides shopping recommendations gathered from online product information, as well as from data stored about the user from prior conversations. Amazon’s shopping AI Rufus can also provide gift recommendations based on the user’s Amazon browsing and purchase histories. Meanwhile, Google’s AI Mode provides product recommendations based on Google listings. Even Walmart and Target have AIs that give online gift suggestions from their respective websites.
Some people might use these AI tools in an effort to save time and money, and take the thinking out of buying a gift. AI in general, though, continues to be a controversial topic, as even AI experts don’t trust chatbots due to poor bot training and “hallucinations” — a term used to describe when an AI model states something is true and real when it is not. These issues raise the question of whether a gift from someone can be personal and meaningful if they didn’t put effort into picking it out. Moreover, are there any positives to letting AI help you shop?
AI takes away the human side of holiday gift giving
One of the most basic and fundamental skills of sentience is coming up with ideas on your own. Even children are quite good at it; they constantly act as a wellspring of new ideas and creativity. One could argue that using AI to come up with ideas for a holiday gift undermines a basic human skill, as well as basic effort. This rings especially true when a gift for someone should be very personal and thoughtful, such as a partner or a good friend.
There is also the problem of AI’s gift recommendations; they focus on data, not the nuances of individual human tastes. These programs look at what is trending, what product reviews say, and what hashtags or other correlations exist within products to make said recommendations. These types of searches are not always high quality, as despite spending billions on AI, Google’s search functions have only gotten dumber.
Some shopper sentiment on using AI to buy gifts is on display in a r/Android subreddit forum. Some noteworthy comments include “Nothing says giving from the heart like ‘A robot bought this for me,'” and “Don’t delegate thinking.” One post also brought up the bias issue of AI suggestions: “What could go wrong with giving an advertising company the job to shop for you?”
AI holiday shopping may not be all bad
Despite concerns over the lack of personal involvement and the fact that an overreliance on AI can change how your brain works, using an AI to help pick out holiday gifts may have some benefits. Some AI tools have price alert and price tracking features; they can monitor the historic price changes of products and let a user know when one hits a good deal.
Innovative online AI shopping tools can also help visually impaired shoppers. Companies such as Amazon and Target have invested in AI to help these shoppers buy what they want more easily. Even Walmart has accessibility features to help meet the needs of online shoppers with cognitive disabilities. These tools demonstrate that using AI to help you buy holiday gifts doesn’t have to take out all the love and effort. However, if you rely on AI to do your gift shopping from start to finish just because you don’t want to shop yourself, it may be a good idea to provide the receipt, as well.
