Amazon employs generative AI to deliver 60% of Prime orders the same day or the following day, in the top 60 U.S. metro regions.
TakeAway Points:
- Amazon improves same-day shipping with generative AI; in major U.S. metro regions, 60% of Prime orders are delivered the same day.
- The number of warehouse robots climbed from 350,000 in 2021 to over 750,000 in 2023; Proteus and other new AI-driven models increase productivity and security.
- While generating artificial intelligence (AI) speeds up and increases sustainability by optimising inventory placement and delivery routes, it also raises questions about its carbon footprint impact.
Amazon’s AI-Powered Delivery
Amazon has long been a leader in package delivery, setting high standards with its Prime service. Since its launch in 2005, Prime has evolved from offering two-day shipping to making one-day shipping standard by 2019.
Now, Amazon is leveraging generative AI to push the boundaries further, aiming to increase same-day shipping capabilities. Steve Armato, Amazon’s vice president of transportation technology and services, highlighted that 60% of Prime orders in March were delivered the same day or next day in the top 60 metropolitan areas in the U.S. Amazon is betting on generative AI to boost this figure.
Generative AI is being used to optimize delivery routes, enhance warehouse robots, create more ergonomic environments for employees, and better predict where to stock new items.
“Generative AI is the next big evolution in technology. It’s remarkable, and we’re already applying it in very practical ways across our operations,” Armato said.
The technology helps in placing products in the right spot, reducing the distance they need to travel when ordered, thus improving speed and sustainability.
Dynamics of Workforce and Robotics
Amazon’s use of robotics has grown significantly, with the number of warehouse robots increasing from 350,000 in 2021 to over 750,000 in 2023. These robots, enhanced with AI transformer models, navigate warehouses more intelligently.
Armato described the coordinated movement of these robots as a “dance floor,” where some robots prioritize next-day deliveries over two-day deliveries. The next generation of drive units, called Proteus, are fully autonomous, using generative AI and computer vision to avoid obstacles and find optimal stopping points.
In August, Amazon struck a deal with AI startup Covariant to enhance its robots’ ability to handle a wider range of physical objects. The company is also developing a bipedal robot named Digit, capable of grasping and handling items in a humanoid manner. Armato emphasized that these advancements are not intended to replace human workers but to reduce their physical burden and create new roles. Amazon plans to invest $1.2 billion to upskill more than 300,000 employees by the end of 2025. “Someone needs to maintain [the robot] if it breaks down,” Armato said, highlighting the creation of new job categories with higher earnings potential.
AI Sustainability
Amazon delivered over 2 billion items the same day or next day in the first quarter of 2024. The company has always used algorithms to predict inventory needs, but generative AI is now being used to predict where best to place items it hasn’t previously sold. This reduces the distance products travel, benefiting both speed and sustainability. Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides the data centers and servers running these AI workloads, giving Amazon an edge over its retail rivals.
However, the environmental impact of generative AI remains a concern. Training and running generative AI is a carbon-intensive process, potentially conflicting with Amazon’s 2019 commitment to reach net-zero carbon by 2040. Despite this, Amazon claims that AI is helping cut down the carbon footprint of package delivery by improving mapping for its vast network of 390,000 delivery drivers, predicting road closures, and choosing more efficient routes.
