Amazon is preparing to develop and implement a new “search” functionality for its online web store featuring a ChatGPT-like interface.
A pair of job postings first spotted by Bloomberg spell out the company’s plans, which state in unambiguous language that Amazon intends to reinvent its long-standing search feature.
In a job listing for a “Sr Technical Program Manager,” the company states:
“We are working on a new AI-first initiative to re-architect and reinvent the way we do search through the use of extremely large scale next-generation deep learning techniques.”
The pay for this position, which requires at least seven years of experience working directly with engineering teams, ranges from $119,000 to $231,400 per year depending on the applicant’s location.
A second job listing, this one for a “Sr SDE, Machine Learning (ML), Amazon Search” paying between $134,500 and $261,500 per year, adds further detail. It explains that the initiative will be “a once in a generation transformation for Search,” and that the company intends to deliver to customers right away:
“We are reimagining Amazon Search with an interactive conversational experience that helps you find answers to product questions, perform product comparisons, receive personalized product suggestions, and so much more, to easily find the perfect product for your needs.”
Combined, the postings make it clear the company plans to implement high-level change to the way its Search product works.
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Also of note, Amazon recently debuted its own “Bedrock” AI foundational models. Bedrock was designed as a “serveless” AI service allowing customers to build out their own ChatGPT-like models.
Amazon’s own “Titan” chatbot service was announced along with Bedrock. Company vice president Bratin Saha told reporters that Amazon has been using “a fine-tuned version” of Titan to surface search results on the company’s homepage; it’s unclear if this is related to the recent job postings. Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
The timing of these announcements comes as no surprise. Movement in the generative AI space has been rapid since OpenAI launched its ChatGPT service in March.
So far, the aggressive growth seems to be paying off. Generative AI tech appears to be impacting nearly every sector from journalism, where several media outlets have experimented AI-generated reporting, to cryptocurrency and blockchain. In the latter sector, nearly every segment of cryptocurrency and blockchain development, trading, and community interaction has been affected by generative AI.
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