AI gift ideas: New apps use artificial intelligence for personalized suggestions

Are you fresh out of gift ideas for people on your list this holiday season? New apps use artificial intelligence to suggest personalized gift ideas.

"I made it because I have always given people cards for their birthdays with cash in it, or gift cards," said Ben Revzin, co-creator of the new Cheerful app.

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Revzin said that's why he and a partner created Cheerful, which uses artificial intelligence to suggest personalized gift ideas within a budget that you set.

"Let’s say I want to get a gift for my friend Terry. Terry’s in her 30s, select female, then I can select interests, I know she likes to travel, yoga, I can even type things in here if they’re not on the list," Revzin demonstrates in a company video.  

In seconds, Cheerful generates 12 gift ideas.  Then you can click on an idea, such as portable hammocks.

"It’s going to give me the top options for portable hammocks on Amazon for less than $100," he said in the video.

The app is free to use. Cheerful is an Amazon Affiliate, earning a commission if you buy a suggested gift. 

Revzin entered my interests, including my love for cats.

"See if I was getting a gift for you, I would not know these cat bookends exist, but they do, and they’re very cute," he said.

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You can also use tools like Ollie.ai, which will ask you follow-up questions about the person you're shopping for.  I entered gifts for dad and fishing, golf, football, reading and biographies. It quickly gave me five gift ideas from different retailers, including personalized golf balls and a personalized team jersey.

Revzin says Cheerful will add more retailers in the future.

Other apps also use AI to generate gift ideas from a variety of retailers, including Giftl.io and Giftlist.com's Genie.