AI chatbots at your service? 3 Long Islanders weigh in on technology
Generative AI-powered chatbot usage has surged during the holiday season, according to a software company that evaluates online shopping. Credit: Getty Images/Krongkaew
Judith Jacques, of Amityville, a businesswoman and mother of three children, uses AI chatbots often to help her make shopping decisions.
A fan of Gemini, a generative artificial intelligence-powered chatbot by Google, she said she has asked the chatbot, for instance, to "provide me a list of retailers that has red sequined dresses for an upcoming gala with … mini-length dresses." The chatbot gave her a list of retailers with the length for her to choose from, said Jacques, 37.
Google Gemini, which was launched in 2023, can answer questions on a wide range of topics, from science to history to pop culture to retail.
Generative AI can learn from and mimic large amounts of data, and then, based on prompts, use that data to create content such as text, images, music, videos and code, according to Harvard University Information Technology.
While the number of generative AI-powered chatbots users like Jacques remains low, usage of the technology during the holiday season has surged, according to Adobe Analytics, a San Jose, California-based software company, which evaluates online shopping.
All industries are shifting toward adopting more advanced technology, which should be embraced, said Jacques, who also uses chatbots of other retailers, including Amazon.
“I think it’s something we should definitely welcome because it makes our lives super easy, and we should navigate around it to see how we can … utilize these tools to make our lives more seamless,” she said.
On Cyber Monday, traffic to retail sites from chatbots — shoppers clicking on links to retail sites — increased 1,950% compared to the same day last year, Adobe reported.
On Black Friday, traffic to retail sites from chatbots increased by 1,800% compared to the same day last year, according to Adobe.
“While the base of users remains modest, the uptick shows the value chatbots are playing as a shopping assistant for consumers to find deals or to quickly locate products,” Adobe said in early December.
Chatbots have existed online for decades to give customers online support.
In the past, chatbots on retail sites often were being run by human employees, and the technology later evolved to be tools that were a little more autonomous in referencing information and providing it to customers, said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
But the generative AI-powered chatbots that have emerged over the past two years go beyond that by leveraging large language models and scouring the online ecosystem to provide knowledge to consumers in a conversational manner, he said.
“With generative AI, there’s reasoning and the generative AI agent is able to unlock huge swaths of data … [I]t can communicate naturally with the consumer," he said.
Unlike Jacques, who said chatbots help make shopping easier, other Long Islanders said the technology can be intrusive.
Caroline Sutherland, of Huntington, who shops online and in stores for gifts for her family, said she is not looking for any artificial intelligence-powered help, or virtual assistants, with her Christmas shopping — or any shopping for that matter.
“I’m worried about tracking and privacy. I’m also worried about … a profile being built and having more stuff targeted toward me," said Sutherland, 33, who works in sales at a Hauppauge-based building interiors supply company founded by her father.
"I think a human touch is necessary in certain types of purchases,” she added.
Like Sutherland, Commack resident Greg Jones, 54, isn’t a fan of chatbots.
"When I go to a website, [I] will already know why I’m going there. And I kind of just find them bothersome because then I kind of have to click out of them so it gets off my screen and I can fully see the experience I’m looking for,” he said Sunday after leaving a Best Buy in Huntington with new cases for the cellphones he bought for Christmas for his two kids.
Jones, who works in the financial services industry, doesn’t think the targeted ads that pop up on phone screens from using chatbots are an invasion of privacy, but he understands how others can have that perception.
"But I can definitely see how people feel … kind of creepy," said Jones, adding, "It feels Big Brother-ish in a way.”
Judith Jacques, of Amityville, a businesswoman and mother of three children, uses AI chatbots often to help her make shopping decisions.
A fan of Gemini, a generative artificial intelligence-powered chatbot by Google, she said she has asked the chatbot, for instance, to "provide me a list of retailers that has red sequined dresses for an upcoming gala with … mini-length dresses." The chatbot gave her a list of retailers with the length for her to choose from, said Jacques, 37.
Google Gemini, which was launched in 2023, can answer questions on a wide range of topics, from science to history to pop culture to retail.
Generative AI can learn from and mimic large amounts of data, and then, based on prompts, use that data to create content such as text, images, music, videos and code, according to Harvard University Information Technology.
Judith Jacques of Amityville, seen here in 2023 at a nonprofit event in Westbury, said she uses AI chatbots often to help her make shopping decisions. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
While the number of generative AI-powered chatbots users like Jacques remains low, usage of the technology during the holiday season has surged, according to Adobe Analytics, a San Jose, California-based software company, which evaluates online shopping.
All industries are shifting toward adopting more advanced technology, which should be embraced, said Jacques, who also uses chatbots of other retailers, including Amazon.
“I think it’s something we should definitely welcome because it makes our lives super easy, and we should navigate around it to see how we can … utilize these tools to make our lives more seamless,” she said.
Holiday chatbot usage sees uptick
On Cyber Monday, traffic to retail sites from chatbots — shoppers clicking on links to retail sites — increased 1,950% compared to the same day last year, Adobe reported.
On Black Friday, traffic to retail sites from chatbots increased by 1,800% compared to the same day last year, according to Adobe.
According to an Adobe Analytics survey of 5,000 U.S. consumers:
20% of respondents say they used chatbots to find the best Black Friday deals while
19% say they used chatbots to quickly find specific items online and
15% say they used it to get brand recommendations.
“While the base of users remains modest, the uptick shows the value chatbots are playing as a shopping assistant for consumers to find deals or to quickly locate products,” Adobe said in early December.
Chatbots have existed online for decades to give customers online support.
In the past, chatbots on retail sites often were being run by human employees, and the technology later evolved to be tools that were a little more autonomous in referencing information and providing it to customers, said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.
But the generative AI-powered chatbots that have emerged over the past two years go beyond that by leveraging large language models and scouring the online ecosystem to provide knowledge to consumers in a conversational manner, he said.
“With generative AI, there’s reasoning and the generative AI agent is able to unlock huge swaths of data … [I]t can communicate naturally with the consumer," he said.
On Cyber Monday, traffic to retail sites from chatbots increased by
1,950%
compared to the previous year, according to Adobe Analytics.
'It feels Big Brother-ish'
Unlike Jacques, who said chatbots help make shopping easier, other Long Islanders said the technology can be intrusive.
Caroline Sutherland, of Huntington, who shops online and in stores for gifts for her family, said she is not looking for any artificial intelligence-powered help, or virtual assistants, with her Christmas shopping — or any shopping for that matter.
“I’m worried about tracking and privacy. I’m also worried about … a profile being built and having more stuff targeted toward me," said Sutherland, 33, who works in sales at a Hauppauge-based building interiors supply company founded by her father.
"I think a human touch is necessary in certain types of purchases,” she added.
On Black Friday, traffic to retail sites from chatbots increased by
1,800%
compared to the same day last year, according to Adobe Analytics.
Like Sutherland, Commack resident Greg Jones, 54, isn’t a fan of chatbots.
"When I go to a website, [I] will already know why I’m going there. And I kind of just find them bothersome because then I kind of have to click out of them so it gets off my screen and I can fully see the experience I’m looking for,” he said Sunday after leaving a Best Buy in Huntington with new cases for the cellphones he bought for Christmas for his two kids.
Jones, who works in the financial services industry, doesn’t think the targeted ads that pop up on phone screens from using chatbots are an invasion of privacy, but he understands how others can have that perception.
"But I can definitely see how people feel … kind of creepy," said Jones, adding, "It feels Big Brother-ish in a way.”
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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'It's disappointing and it's unfortunate' Suffolk Police Officer David Mascarella is back on the job after causing a 2020 crash that severely injured Riordan Cavooris, then 2. NewsdayTV's Andrew Ehinger and Newsday investigative reporter Paul LaRocco have the story.
