Iran-based marketplace horizontal Divar has launched AI Shopping Assistant, which it says will help users to move beyond traditional search filters and engage in conversation to find the listing they want.
The assistant enables users to express their needs and preferences in a conversational style to find relevant listings. The AI bot then crawls the listing database and suggests products in line with user queries.
The tool can also compare products and provide additional information about price and product features. It is currently being tested in selected categories — real estate, cars, digital goods and home appliances — according to technical team lead Ashkan Keshavarzi. He added that the feature would eventually be made available across the board.
“Our goal is to simplify the complex search and purchase process for shoppers. By better understanding the buyer’s needs and product specifications, as well as providing advice, such as comparison or analysis, the Shopping Assistant helps them reach the right option faster and make decisions with more confidence,” he said in the company’s news release.
Divar is the leading marketplace in the country with more than 67 million annual users, and it is increasingly utilizing tech to improve: It recently launched an AI tool to detect offensive ads and added a chatbot to answer queries about listings, payments and technical issues.
