Gautam Kanumuru is the Co-founder and CEO of Yogi, a product sentiment analysis platform that enables brands to gain deeper visibility into customer feedback and the voice of the customer. With a background in AI and natural language processing, he played a crucial role in developing Microsoft products, including Cortana and Xbox. Before co-founding Yogi, Gautam was the Vice President of Engineering at Clarke.ai and a Program Manager at Microsoft.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• [01:26] Gautam Kanumuru introduces Yogi and its role as a voice of the consumer platform for brands
• [04:10] How Amazon reviews functioned historically, with aggregated ratings masking weaker SKUs
• [06:28] Gautam breaks down why brands use ASIN grouping to support launches and offset underperforming products
• [08:33] Amazon’s shift to variation-level reviews and the sudden drop in visible ratings and counts
• [12:45] What Amazon’s shift means for shopper behavior, with clearer product-specific insights driving better decisions
• [17:28] How more precise review data leads to stronger sentiment analysis and SKU-level insights within Yogi
• [20:49] Gautam highlights the growing importance of product quality as AI reshapes the marketplace

In this episode…

Shifts in how customer feedback is displayed can reshape the way people shop online. Even small changes in review visibility can influence trust, perception, and purchasing decisions. As platforms prioritize accuracy and transparency, brands are left adjusting in real time. So what happens when the rules around reviews suddenly change?

Gautam Kanumuru, an expert in consumer feedback and product analytics, explains that recent updates are pushing brands toward greater accountability at the individual product level. He notes that separating reviews by variation gives shoppers a clearer picture but also exposes underperforming SKUs that were previously hidden. Gautam emphasizes the importance of closely monitoring product-level sentiment and using that data to inform decisions across marketing, product development, and eCommerce strategies. Brands that actively listen and respond to customer feedback will be better positioned to adapt and grow.

In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant sits down with Gautam Kanumuru, Co-founder and CEO of Yogi, to discuss how Amazon’s evolving review system is reshaping consumer behavior and brand strategy. Gautam explores the shift to variation-level reviews, the impact on shopper trust, and the growing need for accurate data. He also touches on AI-driven shopping tools and the increasing importance of product quality in a more transparent marketplace.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Aaron Conant on LinkedIn
• BWG Connect
• Gautam Kanumuru on LinkedIn
• Yogi

Quotable Moments:

• “So what we do is we help brands like Chomps, Olly, plenty of other brands essentially get an understanding of what customers are saying across all their touchpoints.”
• “Now, if there is enough variation between each ASIN, they will change the review count and average rating accordingly.”
• “And so now this is what makes it seem like you wake up one day and you're like, oh, I lost 200 reviews when in reality you didn't.”
• “The more accurate that that tagging can be, it makes a huge difference for what you can deduce downstream.”
• “I think…just making great products and experiences is just going to become more and more important.”

Action Steps:

1. Audit product reviews at the SKU level: Separating feedback by variation helps uncover hidden issues that aggregated ratings can mask. This ensures teams make decisions based on accurate, product-specific insights rather than blended averages.
2. Prioritize product quality over review manipulation: As platforms increase transparency, weak products are more easily exposed. Focusing on delivering a strong customer experience builds long-term trust and sustainable growth.
3. Leverage customer feedback across all channels: Pulling insights from reviews, surveys, and support data provides a more complete view of the customer. This enables smarter decisions across marketing, product development, and eCommerce strategies.
4. Adjust launch strategies for new products: Without shared reviews, new SKUs may start with little to no social proof. Planning for this shift helps brands set realistic expectations and invest appropriately in early traction.
5. Embrace AI-driven insights and tools: As AI shopping experiences grow, clean and structured data becomes more valuable. Using these tools effectively can improve conversion rates and help brands stay competitive in evolving marketplaces.

About BWG Connect...

BWG Connect provides executive strategy and networking sessions that help brands from any industry with their overall business planning and execution. We network and knowledge share together to better understand and adapt to the newest trends, strategies, and pain points shaping growth in the digital space. BWG Connect, in conjunction with BWG Strategy, has built an exclusive network of 125,000+ senior professionals and hosts over 2,000 virtual and in-person networking events on an annual basis.

In addition, we have had 1x1 conversations with over 5,000 brands and have a real-time pulse on what digital strategies are successful and why. This in-depth knowledge allows our team to operate on the cutting-edge and provide our clients with best-in-class guidance on how to win in the digital world. We have provided free consultations and strategy sessions for companies of all sizes, from start-ups to Fortune-100, to enable growth, resolve issues and make curated service provider introductions that can impact your digital footprint.

We have held to the philosophy of providing high-level insights and actionable knowledge with no sales pitches in order to provide to our network the ability to listen, learn and act to improve themselves as well as their organizations. Our ultimate goal is to be the resource out there to help digital executives find the research they need to excel in the modern marketplace.

If you are interested in getting involved with any of our current or past events, you can find them here. If you are looking for help & would like to set up some time to chat with our team, you can schedule a time or reach out directly to Aaron@bwgconnect.com or Tiffany@bwgconnect.com.

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