CUPERTINO, Calif.–Reports indicate Apple is preparing a virtual shopping assistant for its App Store, which will have implications for the payments cards consumers have tied to any such assistant.
While the company has not officially comments, the website Apple Insider said a passage in the company’s App Store privacy policy suggests that a new feature—similar to the Apple Support Assistant—could be in the offing.
That policy mentions Virtual Shopping Assistant, what data it collects, and a specific setting toggle that doesn’t yet exist within the Apple Store app, according to Apple Insider. While the Apple Store app was updated on July 22, there has been no sign of this new AI chat tool, the report added.
“Where the Apple Store app virtual shopping assistant is available, Apple collects and stores your account information, device identifiers, carrier information, chat information, and where enabled, location data to personalize the chat experience, provide relevant responses, and if you opt in, to improve the virtual shopping assistant,” the policy said, as per Apple Insider.
Growing Market for Assistants
As the CU Daily has been regularly reporting, any potential new tool introduced by Apple would be part of a growing market in which such AI-powered assistants have become a top priority for many retailers. The assistants allow consumers to make product comparisons, do research and more before making a purchase. In some cases, some assistants have been powered to make purchases without the consumer needing to provide the final OK.
Recent consumer research has found that just under half of online shoppers have employed AI as part of their recent purchases.
