Amazon is reportedly working on a database for 'virtually every item for sale on Earth'

This would include products that the online commerce giant doesn’t even sell.

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Amazon is reportedly working on a way to compile all the product data in the world for online shopping in a project called the World Product Graph, according to Reuters. As first reported by Reuters, the online commerce giant has an internal document that details the World Product Graph, which was corroborated by "people familiar with the matter." The initiative will reportedly collect data on every item that's sold online, even if Amazon doesn't offer it.

Even for products not sold through Amazon, the World Product Graph would result in online shoppers still interacting with Amazon since its database would provide useful information many customers seek out before purchasing, including customer reviews. If released, the idea is that Amazon's World Product Graph would remove the need for online shoppers to visit Reddit or Google for this type of data, meaning more time spent on the Amazon ecosystem.

As a result of creating such a comprehensive database of online product info, Amazon could also increase the utility of its AI shopping agent, Alexa for Shopping, which replaced its predecessor Rufus. At the same time, creating the World Product Graph could be Amazon planting a flag in this data-heavy space, which would eventually see rivaling AI shopping agents relying on the tech giant's product info repository to provide answers to user prompts. According to an internal document that Reuters reviewed, Amazon already enlisted the help of Coca-Cola, Bayer and other manufacturers to provide product data.

Reuters said that it's unsure if and when the World Product Graph would be implemented, but reported that the document included an "aspirational future release date of October 1, 2027." An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters that "draft, outdated documents often paint an incomplete picture and the existence of a brainstorming document ​such as this one doesn't necessarily reflect our current plans."