Instinct’s new product recommendations are giving some users the ick
AI startup Instinct is facing user backlash after introducing 'Instinct Selections,' a feature that pushes curated product recommendations into its interface. Users have criticized the move as intrusive and reminiscent of unwanted advertising.
Why it matters
This reflects the growing tension between AI utility and the monetization strategies that threaten user experience and trust.
The buzzy AI startup Instinct has just revealed a new potential revenue stream: product recommendations. Unfortunately for the company, the rollout is already rubbing some users the wrong way.
Overnight, the AI agent began pushing product suggestions to users as part of a new feature called Instinct Selections, an effort to curate personalized lists for users in areas like dining, travel, and shopping.
Founder Noah Shinn announced the feature’s debut later Tuesday, explaining that the idea is to partner with “local chefs, designers, architects, travel guides,” and others to bring “human taste” to its product.
In other words, instead of only relying on what the AI could suggest based on its training data gathered from the wider web, the company is partnering with people to offer human-curated suggestions, too. (Instinct didn’t share who, exactly, those human partners are.)
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