The number of times I have searched something, got back something I did not ask for, and found that helpful, rounds down to zero. It's actively destructive to the platforms that allow this kind of hijacking of search terms.
But think about normal human conversation - when a friend tells me they are going to buy a rav-4 that weekend,I am 100% going to tell that then I had a rental CX-50 last week and would recommend they take a look at it.
In other words: putting a new concept on someone's radar that they hadn't thought about but is relevant to them is hugely valuable.
Think about it like this: - lots of people searched Rav 4 - some of them clicked the ad for cx-50 - some of them ended up test driving the cx-50 - some of them bought it
For the people that clicked / test drive / bought - there's clearly something important that happened as a result (whether it changed the final outcome or not)
Though yes personally I would be like "compact suvs 2026 reviews" as my starting point so that would never be me - but not everyone is me.
If my friend is involved in an MLM scheme, I'm not going to trust them that I should buy NutriProteinShakeMax! I probably don't want them to tell me about it, ever!
Pause. Amazon is not my friend. Neither is Google, or Netflix, or Temu, or any other website or service.
When I ask an e-commerce website for something, I'm not looking for normal human conversation. I'm looking for a product.
More generally, when I'm asking a computer for something, I'm still not looking to have a conversation. I'm looking for results. Quaint, I know.
If I want Amazon to "put new ideas on my radar" I'll ask for that explicitly. Spoiler alert: I won't. It's a website where you buy things, not a goddamn mood board.
I gotta say, I think you’re in the minority. I suspect most folks appreciate the cross shopping suggestion
And when you DO specify one, but get results for something else entirely?
Literally everyone I know feels this way, even if they don't care about it as passionately. No one "appreciates" being openly manipulated to their financial detriment.