Amazon’s making up pictures of products in AI search overhaul

Using AI to generate pictures is a whole lot of fun. And it can also be very useful when you’re trying to visualize new ideas in order to more easily share them. But does it sound like a great fit for shopping? Amazon sure seems to think so, and is introducing a new AI-powered visualization tool for search in its Amazon Shopping app.

Today Amazon’s announcing a whole bunch of visual-first upgrades for Shopping, including improvements to Lens Live, like the ability to add text to pictures you snap with your camera for better search results. That’s also getting its own version of Circle to Search, allowing you to highlight specific parts of photos for the app’s attention. But the one everybody’s talking about — and easily the most controversial one here — is the addition of real-time AI-generated product images for searches.

In a certain light, what Amazon’s trying here makes a lot of sense: The company frames this tool as ideal for users who might be able to picture the product they want to buy, but don’t know exactly the right term for it. Instead, they can try a more descriptive approach, and Amazon will show some AI-generated suggestions of what they could be looking for. As you continue to add text, the app will refine those guesses.

The idea is that once you see one that’s pretty much just what you had in mind, you can tap on it, and Amazon Shopping will then present you with a list of real-world products that are similar. As you can see in the demo above, this is getting started with clothing and home products — considering the incredibly ambitious scope of this effort, it makes a lot of sense to start with a more targeted approach like this.

While there is a way to think about this tool that seems perfectly logical, we also can’t ignore that AI-wary voice in our head that’s just screaming its reaction to the news: Why would you want to see pictures of products that don’t exist when you’re shopping for something you want to actually buy?

That doesn’t necessarily detract from the utility of a feature like this, but it also sounds like it’s introducing the possibility for users to end up feeling unnecessarily frustrated. What happens if you fall in love with one of those AI previews, but the actual garments available for sale just don’t quite live to up it?

Perhaps this is a lot of premature nay-saying, and we should wait to hear some feedback from actual users about their experiences. In fact, you can help us out with that! Fire up Amazon Shopping on your Android or iPhone device, try searching for a general description of some clothing you’re looking for, and let us know how the experience went for you. Were you satisfied by the AI previews, or is this one place where AI just doesn’t make a lot of sense?