Fast Simon Debuts Shopping by Image Search

Shopping optimization platform Fast Simon, formerly InstantSearch+, on Monday (Oct. 18) launched the AI Visual Discovery Suite, which lets shoppers use images from their smartphones, Instagram accounts or store catalogs to get instant matching results in one click.

Visual Discovery automatically identifies all objects in an image, meaning merchants can “complete a look” for consumers, thereby increasing cart sizes and conversion rates.

“Images are one of the most powerful inspirations for shoppers, especially in fashion,” said Zohar Gilad, CEO of Fast Simon, in the company announcement. “Using advanced AI [artificial intelligence], we are letting merchants provide their shoppers with a powerful engagement medium – visual discovery – and better adapt to the shifts in users’ shopping experience preferences.”

Fast Simon’s AI Visual Discovery Suite adds software integration to eCommerce and a dashboard that provides detailed analytics on shopper engagement, conversion and average order value (AOV).

Related news: Can AI Police Facebook? Maybe Not Just Yet, Report Says

On Sunday (Oct. 17), The Wall Street Journal reported that a review of internal Facebook documents showed that the social media giant’s AI can’t always identify racist rants or first-person videos of shootings, among other subject matter.

The documents also show that Facebook employees have estimated that the platform removes only a fraction of the posts that violate its rules, according to the WSJ report. The algorithm shows material less often when it can’t determine whether the content breaks Facebook rules, but it doesn’t delete the post or sanction the accounts that posted it.

Facebook has also cut the amount of time human reviewers spent dealing with hate speech complaints in the last two years, and has made other changes that reduced the number of complaints. This has led Facebook to become more reliant on AI, the WSJ report says.

The documents also show that the Facebook employees who were charged with keeping offensive or dangerous content off the platform said the company isn’t meeting its mark when it comes to effectively screening against that content.