I think the most interesting feature is that the A.I. takes requests. So you can ask it questions like “brown mens shoes size 10 or 11 that are light but good for hiking”, “earbuds with the best bass under $100”, or “a super comfy leather couch that’s easy to move around.” I imagine as a little old man/woman who responds to any request with "I know just the thing."
The comment at the end of the TC article @_jacksmith shared is the key here: "Combining the ease of the internet with the help of a human could spur the next evolutionary leap in shopping." It becomes interesting as AI tech/tools are used to improve the efficiency of operators and the quality of recommendations.
I've bought a couple items via Operator and had an overall pleasant and effortless shopping experience.
But - this post is about the new 'discover' feed which in it's current incarnation seems like a complete 'miss'. I tried it and it seems to be a fairly random list of product *ads* that just fit really broad categories, rather than leveraging any tech or personalization. It is just not very engaging.
I get the importance in building an engagement focused product in such an app, but I think the *content* needs to be much more compelling for it to work. I'm thinking it needs richer photography, deeper style explorations, and general content related to my previous purchases. Not just random products that I can buy.
Anyways - keep up the good work, Operator!
@rahulcap@_jacksmith we are just about to push this coming week, please look out for a significant upgrade to personalization and the core discovery experience
Imgur Melee
Neuron
Hitlist
Operator (pre-launch)
Operation Pie
Operator (pre-launch)