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Amazon's About You feature

Business · Heat 1.0 / 10 · 2 shows · 6m airtime

Amazon unveiled About You on October 11, a feature that shows shoppers the personal insights it has inferred from browsing, purchases and Alexa conversations. Reporting established that the inferences can be specific, including a shopper's preschooler's age and city. The discussion has since widened beyond Amazon: Expedia charged more for New York hotel rooms to users logging on from wealthier areas, and Walmart patented cart-based mayonnaise pricing but says it will not deploy it. What remains open is how such inferences are used and where the line falls.

How 2 podcasts covered it

  1. Morning Brew Daily, 2026-10-07 (0:43 to 1:46)
    Tests Amazon's About You inferred profiles
    First look at Amazon's About You feature: the hosts read their own inferred preferences and joke about how accurate the AI profiles are.
    New angle: Amazon released an About You feature that lists preferences inferred from shopping habits.
  2. Consider This from NPR, 2026-10-11 (0:00 to 1:00)
    Reads out the inferences About You surfaced
    Opens on Amazon's About You feature and reads out the inferences it surfaced for Lindsay Owens, including her son's age and her city. The first pass at the story, with no prior coverage to sit against.
    New angle: Amazon's About You surfaces inferences including a shopper's preschooler's age and city.
  3. Consider This from NPR, 2026-10-11 (3:15 to 5:57)
    Explains how consumer data collection works
    Owens explains the general mechanics of consumer data collection - better recommendations on one side, personalized pricing on the other - before the conversation turns to why Amazon would show shoppers its inferences. Background and framing, not a new development in the About You rollout.
  4. Consider This from NPR, 2026-10-11 (5:57 to 7:04)
    Widens the frame to surveillance pricing
    Owens widens the frame from Amazon's About You page to surveillance pricing elsewhere: Expedia charging more for New York hotel rooms to users logging on from wealthier areas, and Walmart patents for changing mayonnaise prices based on cart contents, which Walmart says it will not deploy.
    New angle: Expedia charged more for New York hotel rooms to users logging on from wealthier areas; Walmart patented cart-based mayonnaise pricing but says it will not deploy it.
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