Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. roll out (something)
    • ex. The government rolled out a plan to improve the public transportation system.
  2. personalized
    • ex. The website showed me personalized advertisements based on my searches.
  3. a chatbot
    • ex. The company’s social media page has a chatbot that helps customers with simple questions about products and services.
  4. an advancement
    • ex. Computers and mobile phones are important advancements in technology.
  5. side-by-side
    • ex. The website shows side-by-side tables of flight times and ticket prices.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Major stores and tech companies are using new AI tools to help people shop during the holiday season. Companies like Walmart, Amazon, and Google rolled out these AI tools. These AI tools can give personalized product ideas, track prices, and answer simple questions. They are easier to use than older chatbots, and they can guide shoppers in a more natural way.

Some companies made big advancements this year. For example, Google upgraded its AI system so it can call local stores and ask if a product is available. OpenAI also upgraded ChatGPT to give personalized shopping guides using product pages, reviews, prices, and a user’s past questions. Amazon’s AI helper, Rufus, remembers basic information, such as the number of children in a family, so it can suggest better gifts.

These tools may help many shoppers, but experts say the impact is still small because not all websites have good AI features yet. However, AI can already make shopping faster. Google’s tool can show side-by-side charts that compare prices, reviews, product features, and other details. This means shoppers can find the right item with fewer clicks and less time.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Advancements in Technology in Shopping

  • What do you think about the new advancements in AI tools that are now used in online shopping? Discuss.
  • With all the new advancements in online shopping, which do you prefer: shopping online or shopping in a physical store? Discuss.
  • Would you like an AI tool to remember basic information about you so it can help you when you do your online shopping? Why or why not? Discuss.

Holiday Season

  • In other countries, during the holiday season, people go shopping for gifts. Is this the same in your country? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • How would you describe the holiday season in your country? Discuss.
  • With many new technologies and changes, holiday traditions are changing. Would you like these changes to continue? Why or why not? Discuss.