Carleton researcher developing AI platform to help small businesses compete with Amazon
Ahmed Doha is creating a system that bundles complementary products across vendors—launching by year's end.
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Small businesses often get drowned out by giants like Amazon, but a Carleton University researcher believes AI could change that by letting them collaborate as a network.
Ahmed Doha, an associate professor at Carleton's Sprott School of Business, is developing an AI platform that designs personalized product bundles by packaging complementary items from different businesses together. Rather than competing alone on Amazon's marketplace—where the platform itself steers traffic to its own products—small businesses could create value that giants cannot.
The system would work like tourism bundling: a running-shoe store in Barrhaven could recommend discounted physio packages, sports assessments, and local meal-prep services at checkout, turning a single shoe purchase into a coordinated wellness experience. Each vendor reaches the customer at the moment of intent and shares marketing costs, while customers save money buying bundles and businesses reduce shipping and overhead.
Doha began studying cross-vendor collaboration in 2013, but the technology didn't exist to match complementary products. AI now makes it possible. With federal government backing, he's aiming to have the platform running by the end of 2026.
