All Access

Retail Deals

Standard

Retail Deals Alerts

Alert

Retail Deals Thought Bubble

Thought Bubble

mustard

BFD Expert Voices - Retail Deals

BFD Expert Voices

topics

politics-policy

epstein-files

donald-trump

2026-midterm-elections

immigration

behind-the-curtain

race-and-equity

technology

privacy-tech-regulation

automation-and-ai

tiktok-news

big-tech

social-media

cybersecurity

economy

social-security

inflation

tariffs

federal-reserve

jobs

transportation

business

stock-market-news

retail-news

crypto

media

elon-musk

dealmaking

health

rfk-jr

drug-prices

axios-explains-abortion

public-health

world

israel

axios-explains-ukraine

iran

russia

china

energy-climate

nuclear-energy

climate-energy-policy

climate-change

extreme-weather

alternative-energy

electric-vehicles

science

emerging-tech

biomedicine

newsletters

pittsburgh

atlanta

san-diego

charlotte

boulder

washington-dc

kansas-city

dallas

denver

detroit

des-moines

austin

boston

chicago

cleveland

columbus

houston

indianapolis

miami

nashville

new-orleans

nw-arkansas

philadelphia

phoenix

portland

richmond

salt-lake-city

san-antonio

san-francisco

seattle

tampa-bay

twin-cities

raleigh

huntsville

colorado-springs

axios-local

axios-pro

axios-live

the-axios-show

Amazon is testing new search capabilities for e-commerce using generative AI that will become available in the coming weeks, says a leader at AWS.

Why it matters: While Amazon has long leveraged traditional analytics and machine learning for forecasting and supply chain management, generative AI is a new foray for the tech giant.

Details: Amazon has been working on new features, currently in the test and trial phase, Justin Honaman, head of the worldwide retail and consumer goods go-to-market team at AWS, told Axios on the sidelines of the AWS Summit New York Wednesday.

Near term, generative AI will be useful for better-managing customer data, improving product recommendation engines, and personalization of the shopping experience.

For Amazon customers who log onto its e-commerce website, that will mean improved search capabilities, Honaman says.

For example, a user could search using a phrase such as "running in a race in Boston in September," and suggestions would materialize, he says, though declined to be more specific.

Zoom out: The generative AI buzz in recent months, spurred by ChatGPT, has sparked an explosion of interest from retailers, Honaman says.

Top retail executives — from the CIO of luxury retailer Saks to the head of analytics at Mars — have approached Amazon with use cases they think generative AI can solve, he says.

Zoom in: In one specific use case, an apparel retailer wanted to take a dress it was selling on its website and put it on a different, specific type of model with a different, specified background, he says.

Generative AI produced an image that needed no touching up in less than 11 seconds.

Another use case is Amazon's partner Obsess, which creates virtual stores for brands. Obsess currently allows for 2D images because 3D images of products have been historically expensive to create, which Honaman says generative AI can solve.

What we're watching: Generative AI will be a key technology to making virtual reality affordable for brands.

Amazon leverages generative AI for new search capabilities

Consumers will see improvements for search while shopping in the coming weeks.

Amazon logo is displayed on the screen of  an Apple iPhone.

Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Amazon

Amazon is testing new search capabilities for e-commerce using generative AI that will become available in the coming weeks, says a leader at AWS.Why it matters: While Amazon has long leveraged traditional analytics and machine learning for forecasting and supply chain management, generative AI is a new foray for the tech giant.

Amazon leverages generative AI for new search capabilities

What to read next