Ahead of its annual Great Indian Festival sale, e-commerce giant Amazon India has unveiled Rufus,͏͏ a͏͏ generative͏͏ AI-powered͏͏ conversational͏͏ shopping͏͏ chatbot.
The͏͏ company͏͏ aims͏͏ to͏͏ enhance͏͏ customer͏͏ experience͏͏ and͏͏ streamline͏͏ the͏͏ shopping͏͏ process͏͏ through͏͏ this͏͏ AI-driven͏͏ tool.
Rufus Enhances͏͏ Shopping͏͏ with͏͏ Natural͏͏ Language:
Rufus͏͏ facilitates͏͏ natural͏͏ language͏͏ interactions͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ Amazon͏͏ app,͏͏ enabling͏͏ customers͏͏ to͏͏ ask͏͏ product-related͏͏ questions,͏͏ receive͏͏ recommendations,͏͏ and͏͏ easily͏͏ compare͏͏ products.
According͏͏ to͏͏ Saurabh͏͏ Srivastava,͏͏ Vice͏͏ President͏͏ of͏͏ Categories͏͏ at͏͏ Amazon͏͏ India,͏͏ “Customers͏͏ can͏͏ now͏͏ enjoy͏͏ a͏͏ more͏͏ intuitive͏͏ shopping͏͏ experience,͏͏ whether͏͏ typing͏͏ or͏͏ speaking,͏͏ thanks͏͏ to͏͏ AI-powered͏͏ tools͏͏ like͏͏ personalised͏͏ recommendations͏͏ and͏͏ Alexa͏͏ for͏͏ seamless͏͏ shopping͏͏ assistance.”
AI-Generated͏͏ Review͏͏ Highlights͏͏ Introduced:
In͏͏ addition͏͏ to͏͏ Rufus,͏͏ Amazon͏͏ has͏͏ launched͏͏ AI-Generated͏͏ Review͏͏ Highlights,͏͏ leveraging͏͏ generative͏͏ AI͏͏ to͏͏ offer͏͏ concise͏͏ summaries͏͏ of͏͏ customer͏͏ reviews.͏͏ This͏͏ feature͏͏ provides͏͏ customers͏͏ with͏͏ quick͏͏ insights͏͏ into͏͏ product͏͏ sentiment͏͏ and͏͏ essential͏͏ attributes.
This͏͏ comes͏͏ as͏͏ Amazon͏͏ prepares͏͏ for͏͏ its͏͏ Great͏͏ Indian͏͏ Festival͏͏ sale,͏͏ scheduled͏͏ to͏͏ begin͏͏ on͏͏ September͏͏ 27,͏͏ 2024,͏͏ offering͏͏ 24-hour͏͏ early͏͏ access͏͏ for͏͏ Prime͏͏ members.͏͏ The͏͏ company͏͏ is͏͏ set͏͏ to͏͏ launch͏͏ nearly͏͏ 25,000͏͏ new͏͏ products͏͏ across͏͏ various͏͏ categories,͏͏ including͏͏ electronics,͏͏ mobile͏͏ phones,͏͏ TVs,͏͏ appliances,͏͏ fashion,͏͏ and͏͏ healthcare.
In͏͏ February͏͏ 2024,͏͏ the͏͏ company͏͏ launched͏͏ Rufus͏͏ on͏͏ its͏͏ website͏͏ to͏͏ assist͏͏ customers͏͏ in͏͏ finding͏͏ products͏͏ more͏͏ efficiently,͏͏ followed͏͏ by͏͏ the͏͏ beta͏͏ version’s͏͏ introduction͏͏ in͏͏ India͏͏ in͏͏ March.͏͏ This͏͏ initiative͏͏ is͏͏ part͏͏ of͏͏ Amazon’s͏͏ broader͏͏ AI͏͏ strategy,͏͏ which͏͏ includes͏͏ a͏͏ $4͏͏ billion͏͏ investment͏͏ in͏͏ Anthropic,͏͏ an͏͏ AI͏͏ company͏͏ focused͏͏ on͏͏ safety,͏͏ made͏͏ in͏͏ September͏͏ 2023.
Continue͏͏ Exploring:͏͏ Amazon launches͏͏ AI-powered͏͏ shopping͏͏ assistant͏͏ ‘Rufus’͏͏ in͏͏ beta͏͏ for͏͏ Indian͏͏ users
The͏͏ e-commerce͏͏ giant͏͏ has͏͏ been͏͏ upgrading͏͏ its͏͏ existing͏͏ products͏͏ with͏͏ AI͏͏ capabilities.͏͏ In͏͏ March͏͏ 2024,͏͏ Amazon͏͏ released͏͏ a͏͏ new͏͏ version͏͏ of͏͏ Alexa,͏͏ featuring͏͏ enhanced͏͏ conversational͏͏ abilities͏͏ that͏͏ facilitate͏͏ more͏͏ natural͏͏ interactions͏͏ and͏͏ the͏͏ completion͏͏ of͏͏ complex͏͏ tasks.
New͏͏ Fulfillment͏͏ Centers͏͏ and͏͏ Seasonal͏͏ Hiring:
To͏͏ bolster͏͏ its͏͏ expanding͏͏ operations͏͏ and͏͏ gear͏͏ up͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ festive͏͏ season,͏͏ Amazon͏͏ India͏͏ has͏͏ recently͏͏ opened͏͏ three͏͏ new͏͏ fulfillment͏͏ centers͏͏ in͏͏ Delhi͏͏ NCR,͏͏ Guwahati,͏͏ and͏͏ Patna.͏͏ These͏͏ centers͏͏ will͏͏ support͏͏ over͏͏ 250,000͏͏ sellers͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ region͏͏ and͏͏ provide͏͏ a͏͏ total͏͏ storage͏͏ capacity͏͏ of͏͏ 1.2͏͏ million͏͏ cubic͏͏ feet.
The͏͏ company͏͏ has͏͏ generated͏͏ over͏͏ 110,000͏͏ seasonal͏͏ job͏͏ opportunities͏͏ across͏͏ its͏͏ operations͏͏ network͏͏ to͏͏ address͏͏ the͏͏ expected͏͏ surge͏͏ in͏͏ customer͏͏ demand͏͏ during͏͏ the͏͏ festive͏͏ season.
In͏͏ a͏͏ recent͏͏ leadership͏͏ shift,͏͏ Amazon͏͏ has͏͏ appointed͏͏ Samir͏͏ Kumar͏͏ as͏͏ the͏͏ new͏͏ country͏͏ manager͏͏ for͏͏ India,͏͏ effective͏͏ October͏͏ 1,͏͏ 2024.͏͏ Kumar,͏͏ who͏͏ has͏͏ been͏͏ with͏͏ Amazon͏͏ for͏͏ over͏͏ two͏͏ decades͏͏ and͏͏ was͏͏ part͏͏ of͏͏ the͏͏ original͏͏ team͏͏ that͏͏ launched͏͏ Amazon͏͏ India͏͏ in͏͏ 2013,͏͏ will͏͏ succeed͏͏ Manish͏͏ Tiwary͏͏ in͏͏ overseeing͏͏ operational͏͏ responsibilities.
To͏͏ accommodate͏͏ its͏͏ expanding͏͏ operations͏͏ and͏͏ prepare͏͏ for͏͏ the͏͏ festive͏͏ season,͏͏ Amazon͏͏ India͏͏ has͏͏ recently͏͏ opened͏͏ three͏͏ new͏͏ fulfillment͏͏ centers͏͏ in͏͏ Delhi͏͏ NCR,͏͏ Guwahati,͏͏ and͏͏ Patna.͏͏ These͏͏ centers͏͏ will͏͏ assist͏͏ over͏͏ 2.5͏͏ lakh͏͏ sellers͏͏ in͏͏ the͏͏ region͏͏ and͏͏ provide͏͏ a͏͏ total͏͏ storage͏͏ capacity͏͏ of͏͏ 1.2͏͏ million͏͏ cubic͏͏ feet.
