Amazon says its AI-powered “About You” feature uses information from a customer’s shopping history and other activity, but some users say the resulting “preferences” feel unfair.
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Amazon introduced an AI-powered “About You” feature in May, designed to tailor shopping by using details collected from users’ purchase history, conversations with Alexa for Shopping, product reviews, Lists and searches.
In a release cited in the post, Amazon said the feature lets shoppers “share what you want, provide feedback to update specific details, or remove information that you don’t want used for personalization,” and added that the details come directly from customers’ choices.
The post says some users who have access to the feature shared screenshots online describing what they viewed as surprising or judgmental assumptions. Examples mentioned include a Product Preferences section stating “flat buttocks,” a Home & Family section describing a husband with “skinny legs,” and other comments cited from reply screenshots such as “likes brunettes with muscles.”
The post also says other “highlights” buried in replies included claims that a person had “no friends” and was “a fifty-year-old man,” and that another user said they reported being a 40-year-old woman with friends. It further describes posts alleging a preference for using voice interaction because they “do not know how to type,” and preferences including an “abandoned fitness routine” and difficulty “keeping real plants alive.”
The post says some users are able to access “About You” while others have reported they cannot. It notes that, generally, the feature can be found under the account section. Amazon’s cited release is referred to for additional details, and the story is attributed to user screenshots shared in online replies.
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