AI Product Recommendations: What Retailers Need to Know

Overview

AI recommendations are generally low-risk, but you must be transparent, comply with GDPR for customer profiling, and ensure recommendations don't discriminate against protected groups.

How Recommendations Work

AI analyzes customer behavior — browsing, purchases, clicks — to suggest products. This drives significant revenue. Under the EU AI Act, recommendation systems are generally limited or minimal risk.

But rules still apply, and customer trust matters.

Transparency and Data Protection

Your privacy policy should explain personalized shopping. Recommendation engines run on customer data, bringing GDPR into play. You need a lawful basis for processing behavioral data. Customers should be able to opt out. Be careful about profiling.

Don't collect more data than needed. If recommendations work with purchase history alone, skip tracking every page view.

Fairness

Check that recommendations don't inadvertently discriminate. Does the AI recommend different products or pricing based on characteristics that could disadvantage certain groups? Test regularly for bias.

An AI consistently showing premium products to affluent zip codes and budget products to others might be discriminatory profiling — even if unintentional.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Regulatory requirements change frequently — verify current rules with official sources. Built by Sawai Gyoseishoshi Office, Hiroshima, Japan.