Earlier this yr, Mozilla acquired Fakespot, a startup that leverages AI and machine learning to discover fake and deceptive product reviews. Now, Mozilla is launching its first LLM (large language model) with the arrival of Fakespot Chat, an AI agent that may help consumers as they shop online by answering questions on the product and even suggesting questions that may very well be useful in your product research.

There’s some irony in using AI to combat the scourge of faux reviews, that are today also often crafted using AI technology, like GPT. As CBNC reported in April, a variety of Amazon product reviews were transparently created via ChatGPT as they began with the phrase which tends to be a part of ChatGPT’s responses. In July, TripAdvisor told The Guardian it had already removed over 20,000 reviews it believed contained AI-generated text from across greater than 15,000 properties in its system. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has also proposed a rule that may try to ban fake product reviews, warning that AI is making the issue even worse.  

But Fakespot has been using AI, including generative AI technologies, to make the net shopping process more trustworthy, not less. For example, it launched a generative AI feature called Pros and Cons last yr, that would replace the necessity for reading reviews by writing up its own summaries of a product’s positives and negatives. The feature was trained on billions of information points, with the model itself using five different models under its hood, the corporate said.

This week, Fakespot Chat launched into testing, allowing shoppers to ask an AI chatbot a couple of product they’re considering, much like how you may ask a salesman for help in case you were shopping in a physical store in the true world. The technology uses AI and machine learning to sort through the product reviews, sorting real from fake, to reply the user’s questions. The knowledge out of your chat session is saved to enhance the experience for others, Mozilla notes, but users don’t must create an account or disclose personal information for the experience to work.

The feature is offered via the Fakespot Analyzer or it could be used on an Amazon.com product from Fakespot’s browser extension. For the previous, you’d copy and paste the URL of the product into the analyzer to ask your questions, but when using the browser add-on, the evaluation starts robotically. When the evaluation is complete, Fakespot Chat appears on the right-hand side of the evaluation page alongside other features, like Pros and Cons, in addition to Fakespot’s Review Grades and Highlights. You’ll be able to then interrogate the AI agent concerning the product as you weigh your purchase decisions.

The product joins other Mozilla-led AI initiatives, including a $30 million commitment to construct a startup and community called Mozilla.ai focused on creating an independent open source AI ecosystem. It also hosted its first Responsible AI Challenge which encouraged builders to compete for prize money by creating trustworthy AI solutions.

Mozilla admits its recent AI chatbot may not at all times get things right, so it invites users to submit feedback in the event that they think the model may very well be improved.

“Ultimately, our goal with Fakespot Chat is to cut back your product research time and lead you to raised purchasing decisions,” said Saoud Khalifah, founder and director of Fakespot at Mozilla, in an announcement.