Amazon is building massive database covering every product sold online
What's the story
Amazon is working on a massive project, the "World Product Graph," to create a comprehensive database of all products sold on the internet. The initiative aims to include even those products that are not available on Amazon itself. According to Reuters, the main goal of this project is to keep shoppers from going elsewhere for product research and drive traffic back to Amazon even when they are looking for items sold by other retailers.
Market influence
Amazon could gain an edge in the AI shopping market
The World Product Graph could also give Amazon an edge over competitors in the AI shopping market.
If it has the most extensive database of shopping data, AI agents may prefer its product index over others.
This would mean that even customers using bots for their shopping needs would end up on Amazon's platform.
Feature expansion
Improving Alexa for shopping
Amazon has already started integrating links to products from other retailers through a "shop direct" feature launched last year.
The company also has its own AI shopping assistant, Alexa for Shopping (formerly Rufus). The World Product Graph project could help improve this AI by providing it with more data.
An internal Amazon document on the project admitted that "Many Rufus answers are factually wrong or incomplete," and that running users' searches with the AI is expensive.
Implementation hurdles
Crawling competitor sites
The internal document also highlighted that the success of this project hinges on understanding how brands categorize their products on their own websites.
This could mean that Amazon may have to crawl through other retailers' sites.
However, it remains unclear if or when this strategy will be put into action.
The document suggested a possible release date of October 1, 2027 for the project.
Company statement
Amazon says draft documents don't necessarily reflect current plans
Responding to the reports about the World Product Graph project, Amazon said, "Draft, outdated documents often paint an incomplete picture and the existence of a brainstorming document such as this one doesn't necessarily reflect our current plans."
This statement suggests that while the idea is being considered, it may not be on the company's immediate agenda.