Amazon is facing a burst of attention over its “About You” feature, an editable customer profile that lists preferences and characteristics the company has inferred from shoppers’ activity, after users began posting surprisingly personal entries on social media, including guesses about their bodies, relationships, and habits. Launched on May 13, the feature draws on purchase history, searches, saved lists, product reviews, and conversations with Alexa for Shopping, and customers can review, correct, or remove entries under Shopping preferences in the Amazon Shopping app, mobile web, or desktop, or ask Alexa, “What do you know about me?” The main objective, per Amazon, is better, more relevant ecommerce recommendations, since understanding preferences is “fundamental” to personalization, as the company pushes AI deeper into the shopping experience. Key players include Amazon and Business Insider, whose reporters found a mix of accurate and wrong entries on their own profiles, including one incorrect partner’s name.
Amazon’s “About You” Customer Profiles Go Viral
