• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, October 3, 2023

Amazon is overhauling its search bar with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) features that will act as a concierge for customers, offering expert answers and product suggestions.

Set to launch in January 2024, Amazon's search concierge, known as Project Nile, is backed by many of Amazon's top executives.

Insider reports that the executives view the new search bar as a top priority. It aims to improve the consumer experience and drive traffic and sales.

"While we don't comment on rumor or speculation regarding future plans, we're going to keep inventing in generative AI across all of our businesses,” an Amazon spokesperson wrote in an email to Search & Performance Insider when asked about Project Nile.

A few retailers have set their sights down this same path, outlining plans to use GAI for a search concierge service.

Amazon's project focuses on changing how products are bought online.

A layer of GAI on top of the existing search bar on Amazon will enable instant product comparisons, requests for more details and reviews, and recommendations based on search context and personal shopping data.

One source described the search tool as a “conversational shopping agent for retail customers."

The experience was planned to launch in September, but was delayed, reported Insider, citing one knowledgeable person. It is now being tested internally, and is expected to launch in January, beginning with the U.S., but that could even be delayed.

Amazon would not launch a change like this during the holiday quarter, simply because retailers and brands do not like to think about any new technology during the final quarter of the year, when they are focused on selling products.

One source described the search tool as a “conversational shopping agent for retail customers."

The project has broad implications as Amazon becomes the gateway for many online shoppers. More than 60% of U.S. consumers begin product searches on Amazon, according to Jungle Scout, an ecommerce software maker.

Amazon has been using machine learning and AI for more than 25 years in nearly everything it does. The company continues to invest in GAI across all of its businesses.

It recently announced new AWS technologies and capabilities that help customers take advantage of GAI, improve productivity, and enhance security in Amazon Bedrock. 

Amazon also recently previewed a smarter and more conversational Alexa powered by GAI, and a new large language model (LLM) custom-built for voice interactions.