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Anyone scouring the internet for Cyber Monday deals is likely going to encounter more conversational iterations of the chatbots that some retailers and e-commerce sites have built to provide shoppers with enhanced customer service. Some companies have integrated models infused with newer generative AI technologies, allowing shoppers to seek advice by asking naturally phrased questions like “What's the best wireless speaker?” Retailers hope consumers use these chatbots, which are typically called shopping assistants - as virtual companions that help them discover or compare products. Prior chatbots were mostly used for task-oriented functions such as helping customers track down online orders or return ones that didn't meet expectations. Amazon , the king of online retail, has said its customers have been questioning Rufus - the generative AI- powered shopping assistant it launched this year - for information such as whether a specific coffee maker is easy to clean, or what recommendations it has for a lawn game for a child's birthday party. And Rufus, which is available for holiday shoppers in the U.S. and some other countries, is not the only shopping assistant out there. A select number of Walmart shoppers will have access this year to a similar chatbot the nation's largest retailer is testing in a few product categories, including toys and electronics. Perplexity AI added something new to the AI chat-shopping world last month by rolling out a feature on its AI-powered search engine that enables users to ask a question like “What's the best women's leather boots?" and then receive specific product results that the San Francisco-based company says are not sponsored. “It has been adopted at pretty incredible scale,” Mike Mallazzo, an analyst and writer at retail research media company Future Commerce, said. Retailers with websites and e-commerce companies started paying more attention to chatbots when use of ChatGPT , an artificial intelligence text chatbot made by the company OpenAI, went mainstream in late 2022, sparking public and business interest in the generative AI technology that powers the tool. Victoria’s Secret, IKEA, Instacart and the Canadian retailer Ssense are among other companies experimenting with chatbots, some of which use technology from OpenAI . Even before the improved chatbots, online retailers were creating product recommendations based on a customer's prior purchases or search history. Amazon was at the forefront of having recommendations on its platform, so Rufus' ability to provide some is not particularly groundbreaking. But Rajiv Mehta, the vice president of search and conversational shopping at Amazon, said the company is able to offer more helpful recommendations now by programming Rufus to ask clarifying or follow-up questions. Customers are also using Rufus to look for deals, some of which are personalized, Mehta said. To be sure, chatbots are prone to hallucinations, so Rufus and most of the tools like it can get things wrong . Juozas Kaziukenas, founder of e-commerce intelligence firm Marketplace Pulse, wrote in a November blog post that his firm tested Rufus by requesting gaming TV recommendations. The chatbot's response included products that were not TVs. When asked for the least expensive options, Rufus came back with suggestions that weren't the cheapest, Kaziukenas said. An Associated Press reporter recently asked Rufus to give some gift recommendations for a brother. The chatbot quickly spit out a few ideas for “thoughtful gifts," ranging from a T-shirt and a keychain with charms to a bolder suggestion: a multifunctional knife engraved with the phrase “BEST BROTHER EVER.” After a 5-minute written conversation, Rufus offered more tailored suggestions - a few Barcelona soccer jerseys sold by third-party sellers. But it wasn’t able to say which seller offered the lowest price. When asked during another search for a price comparison on a popular skin serum, Rufus showed the product's pre-discounted price instead of its present one. “Rufus is constantly learning,” Amazon's Mehta said during an interview. Shop AI, a chatbot that Canadian e-commerce company Shopify launched last year, can also help shoppers discover new products by asking its own questions, such as soliciting details about an intended gift recipient or features the buyer wants to avoid. Shop AI has trouble, however, recommending specific products or identifying the lowest-priced item in a product category. The limitations show the technology is still in its infancy and has a long way to go before it becomes as useful as the retail industry - and many shoppers - wish it could be. To truly transform the shopping experience, shopping assistants will “need to be deeply personalized” and be able - on their own - to remember a customer’s order history, product preferences and purchasing habits, consulting giant McKinsey & Company said in an August report. Amazon has noted that Rufus' answers are based on information contained in product listings, community Q&As and customer reviews, which would include the fake reviews that are used to boost or diminish sales for products on its marketplace. The large language model that powers the chatbot was also trained on the company's entire catalog and some public information on the web, Trishul Chilimbi, an Amazon vice president who oversees AI research, wrote in the electrical engineering magazine IEEE Spectrum in October. But its unclear how Amazon and other companies are weighting different training components - such as reviews - in their recommendations, or how exactly the shopping assistants come up with them, according to Nicole Greene, an analyst at management consulting firm Gartner. Perplexity AI's new shopping feature allows users to enter search queries such as “best phone case" and to receive answers derived from various sources, including Amazon and other retailers, such as Best Buy. Perplexity also invited retailers to share data about their products and said those that do would have an increased chance of having their items recommended to shoppers. But Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, suggested in a recent interview with Fortune magazine that he didn't know how the new shopping feature recommended products to customers. But in an interview with the AP, Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko pushed back on that characterization, saying Srinivas' comment “was probably taken out of context.” The context, he said, is that with generative AI technology “You can’t know in advance exactly what the output will be just based off of knowing what the inputs” are from the training materials. Shevelenko said retailers and brands need to know they can't have their products recommended in Perplexity's search engine because they're “jamming key words” into their websites or using different techniques to show up better on search results “The way you show up in an answer is by having a better product and better features,” he said.

NoneAs the Canada Postal worker strike drags on into a third week, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is calling on the federal government to step in. "Seventy-five per cent of small businesses in Canada are impacted by the strike at Canada Post, and it's costing small businesses a huge amount of money; $76 million per day is lost because of the strike," said Jasmin Guenette, CFIB National Affairs Vice-President. "If the strike doesn't end by Wednesday, it will have cost small businesses $1 billion in revenue." According to the CFIB, that includes a combination of lost sales and the increased cost of doing business. It's a busy time of year for local businesses, which have had to pivot, including Vamos Outdoors in Almonte. "We are very blessed, we have wonderful customers," said owner Lisa Nye-Labonte. "November and December are our busiest months of the year." Nye-Labonte says the business increased the price of shipping by 10 per cent to adjust to other carriers like UPS and it has hit pause on overseas sales. "Internationally, we have noticed the price is quite high and so, in those instances, we have refunded orders and lost sales due to that," she said. The CFIB says it's small businesses who are paying the price. "Either impose binding arbitration or introduce back-to-work legislation because the strike cannot continue for many more days," said Guenette. The United States Postal Service has also suspended mail and package delivery to Canada temporarily. This comes as some local businesses like Needle in a Craft Stack close online stores temporarily. "Eighty per cent of my shop is letter mail, so a couple postal stamps compared to shipping to someone's front door is a huge jump," said owner Melissa Tachie-Menson. As the strike continues into the busiest time of year, it begs the question of whether businesses like Vamos Outdoors will return once it's over. "I don't know," said Nye-Labonte. "It is convenient for us, but I do feel that they do need to make some changes." Canada Post says it presented the union with a framework to reach negotiated agreements in the dispute, while the union says its negotiators are reviewing the proposal. Shopping Trends The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us. 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Kelowna Study of 2023 Okanagan wildfires recommends limiting development in high-risk areas A study into the devastating wildfires that struck British Columbia's Okanagan region in 2023 has recommended that government and industry limit development in high-fire-risk areas. Kelowna, B.C., to host the Memorial Cup in the spring of 2026 The Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets will host the Memorial Cup in the spring of 2026, the Canadian Hockey League said Wednesday. 545 vehicles impounded in 332 days: BC Highway Patrol pleads for drivers to slow down Mounties with the BC Highway Patrol in Kelowna say they've impounded more than 545 vehicles for excessive speed and aggressive driving so far this year. That works out to more than 1.6 per day. Stay ConnectedArticle content The newly-elected provincial government has brought forward an affordability bill focused on reducing taxes and offering incentives, as promised in the Saskatchewan Party’s fall election platform. The Saskatchewan Affordability Act was introduced onto the floor of the legislative assembly Monday afternoon. The act contains 13 “affordability commitments,” said the government in a news release. At the heart is a move to raise the personal, spousal and child tax exemptions, as well as the seniors supplement, by $500 over the next four years. This was one of the first big pledges made by Premier Scott Moe on the election trail back in October. Finance Minister Jim Reiter said the affordability act responds to concerns heard during that campaign about rising cost-of-living pressures. “We know these issues are not unique to our province, but we are taking action to make life more affordable for all Saskatchewan residents and families, while ensuring we still maintain a strong economy,” Reiter said in the release. The minister teased the bill last week after it was mentioned in the throne speech at the outset of the 30th legislative sitting. The act also includes adjustments to the following other tax credits : raising the low-income tax credit by five per cent each year over the next four years; raising the disability tax credit, the disability tax credit supplement for children under 18, and the caregiver tax credit by 25 per cent each; doubling the active families benefit and increasing the qualifying income threshold; boosting the post-secondary graduate retention program’s benefits by 20 per cent, bringing the average rebate for a four-year degree to $24,000 from $20,000; increasing the provincial first-time homebuyers’ credit by 50 per cent; raising the amount of savings possible from the home renovation tax credit to $420 per year, and $525 per year for seniors. All tax credits impacted under the act will also be subject to tax indexing to offset inflation and avoid bracket creep for Saskatchewan residents, said the release. “The Saskatchewan Affordability Act will reduce income taxes for every resident, family and small business in our province,” said Reiter in the release. Opposition Leader Carla Beck speared the bill during question period, citing Reiter’s statement from last week that taxpayers wouldn’t see any of these savings in hand until 2026. “That’s more than a year from now for Saskatchewan families to wait,” she said. “If this government had been listening, they’d understand that Saskatchewan people cannot wait until 2026 to get the relief they need.” Beck asked why Sask. Party MLAs moved to block emergency bills proposed last week by the Opposition to immediately pause the 15-cent provincial gas tax and the provincial sales tax on groceries as temporary measures. The emergency actions failed as walk-on bills because the government used its majority to stop debate on adopting the NDP’s proposals from the fall campaign. Reiter countered that “PST isn’t on groceries” and repeated — as he told the media last week — that the act’s measures will be more impactful as they “are permanent.” “We are taking affordability measures very, very seriously,” said Reiter. — with files from Jennifer Ackerman, Alec Salloum and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix’s Michael Joel-Hanson lkurz@postmedia.com The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe. Share this Story : Saskatchewan government introduces new 'affordability' measures Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr{ "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "NewsArticle", "dateCreated": "2024-12-02T21:33:01+02:00", "datePublished": "2024-12-02T21:33:01+02:00", "dateModified": "2024-12-02T21:32:59+02:00", "url": "https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/22296/news/featured/featured-icraf-introduces-new-strategies-to-increase-tree-cover-on-farms-countrywide", "headline": "FEATURED: ICRAF introduces new strategies to increase tree cover on farms countrywide", "description": "Rewarding farmers with high survival rates of trees to plant in addition to extending Vision Umurenge Programme to include the planting and management of...", "keywords": "", "inLanguage": "en", "mainEntityOfPage":{ "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/22296/news/featured/featured-icraf-introduces-new-strategies-to-increase-tree-cover-on-farms-countrywide" }, "thumbnailUrl": "https://www.newtimes.co.rw/thenewtimes/uploads/images/2024/12/02/65397.jpeg", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://www.newtimes.co.rw/thenewtimes/uploads/images/2024/12/02/65397.jpeg" }, "articleBody": "Rewarding farmers with high survival rates of trees to plant in addition to extending Vision Umurenge Programme to include the planting and management of trees on public and private land are new financial strategies that could help enhance trees’ survival rates, according to the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF). Evidence shows that the survival rates of trees planted in farmlands are very low, ranging between 30 per cent and 50 per cent during the first year, and 10 to 30 per cent three years after planting. This represents a loss of financial resources and leads to failure to achieve expected plantation outcomes. According to ICRAF, there is a need to rethink the strategies to increase trees on farms by controlling the factors and conditions that lead to high tree mortality after field planting. A related dialogue was held on November 29, by ICRAF and the ministry of environment to formulate and recommend financial strategies that will enhance survival rates of trees on farms for increased socio-economic and environmental benefits. Dr. Athanase Mukuralinda, the Country Director of ICRAF Rwanda, said that tree planting campaigns are often successful in getting more trees in the ground, but survival rates are usually very low, and farmers need greater incentives to invest in the management of their trees up to the point when they become profitable. In Rwanda, considering the last five years, the loss incurred by a high mortality rate is estimated to be Rwf30 billion in the most conservative hypothesis. An increase in survival rate saves an average Rwf6 billion lost in replacement of trees every year, he said. Rewarding farmers Mukuralinda highlighted the importance of performance-based contracts (PBC) to incentivise farmers to manage the trees. The PBC model was developed in partnership with Dr.Brian Chiputwa, an economist from ICRAF Nairobi. The performance is judged on the survival of trees and their good management to a given level of maturity. All farmers who meet survival and management criteria are rewarded, in cash or in kind. Examples of in-kind rewards that have been tried are livestock and agricultural implements. The approach was tried in Nyagatare and Rutsiro districts where it led to a tree survival rate of 70% after incentivizing farmers. As incentives, ICRAF signed with local farmers a performance-based contract geared towards the protection of the transplanted trees which included alunus, grevillea, and acacias. ICRAF provided goats and pigs to every family which reached a tree survival of 70%. Extending Vision Umurenge Programme ICRAF recommended the use of Vision Umurenge Programme (VUP), an integrated local development programme meant to accelerate poverty eradication, rural growth, and social protection, to incentivise farmers to plant and manage trees on their land. Saidi Sibomana, the Division Manager in charge of Local Development Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA), said that the VUP programme in 2023/24 created 73,000 jobs through radical terraces construction and tree planting. It can be a good approach to promoting agroforestry for reforestation and ecosystem restoration. Citizens get engaged as long as they see benefits. There are areas where we created community agroforestry groups, he said. Egide Karuranga, a researcher, said fruit trees such as avocados should be promoted under performance-based contracts by introducing fruit trees on the farm. Farmers start getting new income starting from the third year after transplantation, as is the case for avocado and mango trees. ICRAF’s conservative hypothesis puts that perennial income at Rwf13,000 per tree. That income will increase every year as the trees grow to reach maturity level starting from the seventh year when the harvest is valued at Rwf65,000 per tree, based on current market prices. This will, as explained, lead to fast graduation out of poverty and put farmers in the middle-income class posted in Rwanda’s Vision 2030. On the macro-economic level, fruits will help in fighting malnutrition while increasing the so-much-needed exports to lessen Rwanda's trade deficit, he said. In addition to helping poor households graduate out of poverty, managing the trees well will help Rwanda tap into the carbon market, Karuranga said. Concorde Nsengumuremyi, the Director General of Rwanda Forestry Authority, said the new financial strategies will help Rwanda achieve a global pledge to restore two million hectares of degraded land by 2030. Having partners such as ICRAF will help meet the target of increasing survival rates of planted trees. This year, we will plant 65 million trees including agroforestry, fruit trees, and trees for timber production. New financing strategies to increase the number of trees on farms are needed. These include rewarding farmers who manage the trees. The farmers can get money or in-kind support such as tools used in agriculture and forestation. They can get subsidized seedlings and fertilizers as a motivation to ensure tree survival rates. The VUP programme can also be used to increase cover. Farmers participating in VUP could be paid to plant trees on their land, he said, adding that there is a need for scaling up such strategies.", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Michel Nkurunziza" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The New Times", "url": "https://www.newtimes.co.rw/", "sameAs": ["https://www.facebook.com/TheNewTimesRwanda/","https://twitter.com/NewTimesRwanda","https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuZbZj6DF9zWXpdZVceDZkg"], "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "/theme_newtimes/images/logo.png", "width": 270, "height": 57 } }, "copyrightHolder": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "The New Times", "url": "https://www.newtimes.co.rw/" } }