Vent: I saw a store in Chicago using AI to guess what you want before you ask

I was in a small shop in Chicago last week and they had a screen by the door that showed product suggestions as you walked in. The clerk told me it uses a camera and some AI to guess your age and style, then shows things you might like. In my case, it showed hiking gear, which was way off since I was just looking for a regular jacket. It felt a bit weird and not very helpful. Has anyone else run into AI like this in a store, and did it work better for you? I'm curious if this is a good use for marketing or if it usually misses the mark.

2 comments

2 Comments

caseys5222d ago

Doesn't this just make shopping feel more like a creepy guessing game?

brookepark22d ago

That reminds me of a time I was in a big box store and their automated checkout kept asking if I wanted to buy batteries. It just kept flashing the question over and over, based on some guess about my cart. It felt less like help and more like a machine yelling at me. These systems seem to miss the point that shopping is often about browsing, not just being told what to get. Getting it wrong, like with your hiking gear, just makes the whole thing feel silly and a bit invasive.