LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Artificial intelligence is changing holiday shopping. According to a survey from Adobe Analytics, just over a third of shoppers in the U.S. have used artificial intelligence to help with online shopping. Adobe projects that traffic from AI sources to retail sites this holiday season will increase over 500% from last year.
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Mike Todasco has been thinking about this. He's a visiting fellow at San Diego State University's AI Center. And on this Cyber Monday, he has tips on using AI tools to find gifts without breaking the bank. Popular chatbots - such as Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Squad - can show a product's price history and make predictions about price changes.
MIKE TODASCO: And I would simply ask it. I'd say, hey, this is currently at this price. What were the prices before? Does this often go down in price in December, so maybe it's worthwhile to wait? Check out other websites. And the AI tools can do that.
FADEL: Todasco says AI can also help pick out furniture or an appliance, like a TV that will fit into your living room and into your budget.
TODASCO: You can say, hey, the couch is about 10 feet away from where the TV is going to be. How big of a screen size should I get? You can put all of this into a prompt and say, give me the recommendations of the Top 5 TVs that will be the best price.
FADEL: Todasco says chatbots can also set up what's called an AI agent to keep an eye on changing prices.
TODASCO: You can actually have the agent scouring the website once a day, twice a day, whatever it is. And if it hits a certain price threshold, it could email you.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, AI models aren't perfect. And Todasco also reminds us that there are just some things AI cannot replace.
TODASCO: The most meaningful gifts that I have ever gotten have come from my children, and it's just something that they made by, you know, their own sweat on a piece of construction paper. And those are the things we love and cherish.
FADEL: AI can't do that. A, one thing I cherish is getting to host this show with you.
MARTÍNEZ: Wait, is this AI Leila?
FADEL: (Laughter).
MARTÍNEZ: Human Leila wouldn't say that to me (laughter).
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