Amazon wants to use AI to direct buyers to the right products. Some users say their tool does a great job cosplaying a judgmental aunt.
The e-commerce giant launched its “About You” feature – essentially a customer record – earlier this year, pitching it as an editable list of preferences that Amazon inferred to help shoppers navigate its vast marketplace. With just a few clicks, buyers can access their Amazon profile, see the conclusions it has drawn, and correct or remove details they don’t want to influence their recommendations.
The tool has sparked renewed interest on social media, particularly on Threads, where it is now trending. Amazon users say his observations were enlightening, if not a little sarcastic.
“I came across a page of assumptions Amazon made about me,” one shopper wrote, while including a screenshot of Amazon’s About You apparently saying she “has a flat butt.”
“I am literally speechless,” they said.
Another customer said Amazon determined she “had a husband” — and that “the husband had skinny legs.” A third said the page identified a fairly specific habit: “Uses phone in the shower to read Kindle books.”
“I mean yes but wtf,” the shopper wrote.
Amazon introduced About You in May as part of a broader AI shopping campaign. The company says recommendations come from customers’ purchasing history, searches, saved listings, product reviews and conversations with Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping assistant.
Amazon has been providing personalized shopping recommendations for years. About You is different because it gives customers an unusually direct view of the profile behind those suggestions — and, in some cases, an invitation to find out what Amazon thinks about their purchases and Alexa conversations about them.
These sometimes acerbic remarks – and the order of their importance – seem particularly illuminating to some social media users.
“Has cats,” one shopper said, the robot observed, then “treats cats like biological children.” And then, finally, “has a husband”. Another person on Threads posted a screenshot of the tool saying that she “doesn’t trust people easily” under a list of “Interests and Hobbies.”
Meanwhile, on Reddit, one shopper said the system recognizes that they “don’t know what truffle tastes like.”
How to view your Amazon “About You” profile
The feature is available in the Amazon Shopping app, mobile web, and desktop. In the app, you can find out what Amazon thinks of you by tapping the following:
- Account
- Shopping preferences
- About you
Shoppers can view and edit the personal information that shapes their recommendations by tapping on each observation.
Several Business Insider journalists spent Tuesday morning checking their own profiles. The results were mixed: One account incorrectly identified the name of a publisher’s partner while correctly timing the slow but steady upgrade of its kitchen appliances. Another reporter said Amazon influenced his preference for organic products.
What does your Amazon “About You” say? Drop observations in the comments section of this story, and we may include them in a future story!
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