Generative AI is now scanning your Amazon packages for defects before they get shipped out

While many people may still be wondering how or if AI tools being leveraged by large companies are actually improving their lives, Amazon has an answer: AI could help prevent the wrong item from finding its way into your order.



The Seattle e-commerce giant said today that it is using an AI model dubbed “Project P.I.” (private investigator), which uses both generative AI and computer vision tech to flag issues in its fulfillment centers with customers’ orders.



Specifically, Project P.I. is able to find defective or damaged products, or flag items that may be the wrong size or color, while products are processed in the company’s imaging tunnels—where items are scanned and evaluated. Damaged items are reviewed by Amazon workers, who then determine if they can be sold for a discount on Amazon’s Second Chance platform.



Fewer returns, improved sustainability



The goal is to improve the overall quality and accuracy of Amazon’s shipments, which could reduce returns and help Amazon create a more sustainable shipping system.



“Amazon is using AI to reach our sustainability commitments with the urgency that climate change demands, while also improving the customer experience,” Kara Hurst, vice president of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said in a company press release. “AI is helping Amazon ensure that we’re not just delighting customers with high-quality items, but we’re extending that customer obsession to our sustainability work by preventing less-than-perfect items from leaving our facilities, and helping us avoid unnecessary carbon emissions due to transportation, packaging, and other steps in the returns process.”



The company also says that it is using generative AI systems to figure out what went wrong when items are damaged or are incorrectly included in a customer’s order. This, again, may help the company work out the kinks in its massive fulfillment system, making it more efficient and sustainable.



Project P.I. is not the only AI tool that Amazon is leveraging in an aim to become more environmentally friendly. In recent years, it’s also incorporated AI models that help reduce packaging use, monitor produce quality through its grocery service, and use algorithms to estimate a product’s carbon footprint.



Additionally, Amazon Web Services (AWS)—the company’s cloud services arm—is also leaning hard into AI. Last year, it launched a service offering access to AI models from several companies.