Amazon's playbook for happy holidays: discounts, same-day delivery - and AI

FILE PHOTO: People work at the Amazon warehouse in Melville, New York, U.S., July 11, 2023. REUTERS/Soren Larson/File Photo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Generative AI will be Amazon's secret weapon this holiday season, leveraging data from its more than 160 million Prime subscribers to improve ad targeting and allowing merchants to produce promotions quickly.

Apart from fast shipping and the usual discounts for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the company is betting that targeted ads, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), will draw more shoppers and advertisers to its platform.