Amazon is under threat from AI – with a range of bizarre listings created by artificial intelligence.
Users of the site expect fake reviews created by bots, and also some products of dubious quality.
But now a string of products have baffling titles. One for a dresser was: ‘I’m sorry but I cannot fulfill this request it goes against OpenAI use policy.’
Experts say that the amusing product listings are a result of sellers using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to create descriptions – but then not proofreading them before setting them live.
It is thought that they hope the AI will optimise listings so they appear higher in search engines or on the Amazon site.
Amazon sellers appear to be using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to create listings – such as this one for a dresser
One Amazon user typed in the keywords ‘I cannot fulfill this request’ – and got a list of items for sale that had that phrase in the product’s name.
Amazon now appears to be cracking down on the AI-generated product listings
The discovery by Futurism raises further questions about how much Amazon keeps tabs on products being listed on its marketplace.
‘We work hard to provide a trustworthy shopping experience for customers, including requiring third-party sellers to provide accurate, informative product listings,’ a spokesperson told Futurism.
‘We have removed the listings in question and are further enhancing our systems.’
After Fururism contacted Amazon, the listings began to disappear. But eagle-eyed Amazon customers had screen-grabbed them – see above and below.
Most of the Amazon listings using OpenAI seem to be resellers who move on items made by other manufacturers.
ChatGPT, from OpenAI, has already been used to create posts on X, formerly Twitter, but had not been seen on retail sites until now.
On X, it has led to endless notifications that posts are ‘against OpenAI’s use policy’.
A bag for bikes had a strange title – because the seller had used the OpenAI to create the listing
Experts say that the amusing product listings are a result of sellers using OpenAI’s ChatGPT to create descriptions – but then not proofreading them before setting them live
It is thought that they hope the AI will optimise listings so they appear higher in search engines or on the Amazon site
After Fururism, a media company focused on technology, contacted Amazon, the listings began to disappear. But eagle-eyed Amazon customers had screen-grabbed them
These chairs also were titled ‘I cannot fulfill tis request it violates OpenAI use policy’
A gazebo also had a strange title
Nearly HALF of the reviews for Amazon’s best-selling items are unreliable – and AI bots write ever more of them, research claims.
Merritt Ryan, a researcher with Circuit, which carried out the research, said consumers should not be sucked in by Amazon’s star rating system.
Researchers combed through 33.5 million reviews on the retailer’s site, and found that 43 percent of them were not to be trusted.
That share rises to nearly nine-in-ten reviews when it comes to clothes, shoes, and jewelry sold on the platform.
And some brands have more dodgy reviews than others.
Feedback for products from Apple and Hanes, and Amazon’s own items, are the least reliable of all, researchers said.
The online retailer is already working to tackle iffy feedback about its wares.
By Daily Mail Online, January 15, 2024
