Meta starts testing its AI shopping assistant

Source: Engadget

Overview

Meta has begun rolling out an experimental AI shopping tool to a limited set of users in the United States, according to Bloomberg. At present, the feature appears only on desktop browsers when selected users visit Meta AI on the web. Access is indicated by a “Shopping research” button inside the query text box. Meta confirmed that it is testing the feature, but did not specify when a broader release might occur.

Features

• When users request product suggestions, the chatbot displays a carousel of product images, pricing, a link to the e-commerce site, and brand information.
• Meta AI provides a brief explanation of why each item was recommended.
• If the AI can access user data such as gender and location, it tailors recommendations accordingly. Bloomberg reported that a tester received a selection of women’s puffer jackets from shops that ship to New York, based on the tester’s profile.
• Users cannot complete purchases directly within the Meta AI interface; they must click the provided links to shop on external sites.

Industry Context

Mark Zuckerberg previously told investors that Meta is launching “agentic shopping tools” during an earnings call earlier this year. The move aligns with similar efforts from rival AI companies:

• OpenAI introduced a dedicated shopping assistant for ChatGPT just before Black Friday last year.
• Google launched shopping tools for its Gemini model.
• Perplexity released an AI shopping assistant around the same time.