Amazon has announced a significant upgrade to its "Hear the Highlights" AI feature in the mobile app, now enabling users to ask real-time questions to its AI-generated shopping experts.
Introduced last year, "Hear the Highlights" provided short, AI-generated audio summaries of products. Previously, these audio summaries were based on unalterable scripts. With the new update, the dialogue can adapt dynamically to users' spoken or typed questions.
According to Amazon, the "Hear the Highlights" feature is now available for "millions of products" within the company's mobile application. Users will find a dedicated button beneath the product image for supported listings. Activating this button initiates a brief (typically one to two minutes) AI-generated audio snippet.
These recordings feature a "host" and an "expert" who discuss various aspects of the product. The key new capability is the ability to interrupt these AI broadcasters for a Q&A session. After starting the audio, users can tap the "raised hand" icon in the audio pop-up, then type or speak their questions using the microphone button. The AI hosts will integrate the user's question between sections of their script, provide an answer, and then resume their original presentation.
In a test of the feature, a user inquired about an entry-level turntable, asking if it supported 78 RPM records and the role of vinyl in a digital streaming era. The AI expert responded: "Regarding the first question, no. This turntable only plays 33 and 45 revolutions per minute records, so 78s will not work here. As for why vinyl in a streaming world, customers frequently discuss this. It's not about convenience; it's about the experience. People mention the warmth of the sound, the ritual of placing a record, and the joy of rediscovering albums they've had stored away for decades. One customer shared that it brought back great memories. It offers a different way to connect with music."
This real-time Q&A functionality is currently accessible to US customers through the Amazon Shopping app on both iOS and Android platforms.