Artificial intelligence is a technology that many people still liken to something from a futuristic movie from days gone by. While to the uninitiated, the words artificial intelligence may conjure up images of humanoid robots, the reality is that AI is already all around and widely adopted throughout society. Almost everyone has some kind of contact with artificial intelligence on a daily basis. From using the face recognition function to unlock your cell phone to asking Alexa to play your favorite song. So, whether they know it or not, most consumers are already interacting with artificial intelligence and enjoying its benefits every day.

Your shopping carts may be full of fixings for stuffing and cranberry sauce, but Black Friday started early at Sonos, so make space for some of our favorite speakers, soundbars, and subwoofers. The sale runs through November 28, and with our favorite Sonos deals, it's a great opportunity to build a surround sound setup. Be sure to check out our other Black Friday coverage, including Deals on Google Devices, Deals on Microsoft Hardware, REI's'Get Up Get Out' Sale, Early Black Friday Deals, Early Best Buy Deals, and our Black Friday Shopping Tips. Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you'd like). Subscriptions help fund the work we do every day.

While you may have a big list of gifts to get for others over the next couple of weeks, now is a good time to pick up things for yourself as well. There's arguably no better time of the year to pick up expensive gadgets like robot vacuums since most of them will be on sale. Wellbots is kicking things off early this year in the smart home space by discounting both the iRobot j7 and j7 vacuums, bringing them down to $349 and $599, respectively, when you use the codes ENG250 and ENG200 at checkout. These are essentially the same robot vacuum, but the "plus" variant comes with a clean base. If you're unfamiliar, clean bases are basically garbage cans attached to the robot's charging base, and the vacuum will automatically empty its bin into the base after each job. If vacuuming is one of your least favorite chores, getting a robo-vac with a clean base makes it so you only have to interact with your cleaning robot once a month or so when you need to change out the base's bag.

Black Friday officially arrives next week on November 25, the day after Thanksgiving. But the deals aren't limited to just that Friday. In many cases, the discounts we see in the weeks leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday are nearly as good. Some stores--notably Best Buy and Target--even offer pricing guarantees, so you can shop now without worrying about missing out on even lower prices later. We've highlighted the best early Black Friday deals below. Be sure to check out our other Black Friday coverage, including Deals on Google Devices, Deals on Microsoft Hardware, REI's Get Up Get Out Sale, Early Best Buy Deals, and our Black Friday Shopping Tips. Updated November 19, 2022: We've added a new style section for handmade Irish sweaters, Ray-Ban sunglasses, and more. Special offer for Gear readers: Get a 1-year subscription to WIRED for $5 ($25 off). This includes unlimited access to WIRED.com and our print magazine (if you'd like).

There's another opportunity to pick up Amazon's Echo speakers at their lowest prices to date as part of the company's early Black Friday sales. In many cases, they've dropped back down to the prices we saw during the fall edition of Prime Day. For one thing, the regular Echo is $50, which is half off the usual price. The latest Echo Dot is down from $50 to $25, and the fifth-gen Echo Dot with clock is a third off at $40. The Echo Dot kids' version is down 50 percent to $30 as well.

Amazon has kicked off another sale on its Echo Show smart devices ahead of Black Friday. Among the discounts are the Echo Show 5 down to $35, the Echo Show 8 down to $70, and both the Echo Show 10 and Echo Show 15 each down to $170. The Kids edition of the Echo Show 5 is also on sale for $40. We've seen all of these deals at various points in the past, but each match the lowest prices we've tracked to date, including the discounts we saw during the company's Prime Early Access Sale in October. There's a chance things drop lower on Black Friday proper, but since Amazon is advertising these offers as "early Black Friday deals," we'd expect them to carry over.

Black Friday is a special time of year when you can save on all kinds of cool stuff, especially tech. But why wait until Black Friday? We're dropping Black Friday deals early throughout November, so every Friday feels like Black Friday. If you've ever wanted a drone, this early Black Friday sale features two for the price of one. This Dual Camera Drone Bundle by Ninja Dragon is on sale for 67% off -- no coupon necessary.

Black Friday is good time to pick up a robot vacuum for less than usual, especially considering these can be some of the most expensive smart home gadgets out there. Thankfully, you don't have to spend an arm and a leg to get a decent one. Right now, iRobot's affordable Roomba 694 is even cheaper than usual at $179, which is $95 off its normal price. Typically priced at $274, the Roomba 694 impressed us with its sleek design, good suction power that cleans carpeted and hard floors well and its ability to navigate around most household objects. There are more expensive machines that do a superior job sucking up pet hair, but the 694 was surprisingly good at it, too.

AI in retail industry is rapidly transforming the customer journey and experience. The fundamental steps of shopping have mostly stayed the same throughout the years: enter a store, choose the ideal item, and pay for it. With personalization, automation, and more efficiency, artificial intelligence has the ability to revamp the conventional shopping experience totally. The retail sector has been going through a digital shift for a while now. Every branch of retail companies has seen a rise in speed, efficiency, and accuracy, largely because of sophisticated data and predictive analytics technologies that support businesses in making data-driven business choices.

SHOPPING: Products featured in this article are independently selected by our shopping writers. If you make a purchase using links on this page, MailOnline will earn an affiliate commission. If you've been holding off investing in the best smart home devices as they tend to be expensive, Amazon has dropped tons of epic deals ahead of Black Friday, including 64 per cent off this smart home bundle. Amazon has blessed us with early Black Friday deals, so you don't have to wait until the shopping bonanza officially starts on Friday, 25 November, to shop and save on gadgets to help automate your home, and you don't have to be a Prime member. This discounted bundle deal on not one but two Amazon Echo Dot (3rd Gen) devices and a Meross Smart Plug - everything you need to create an Alexa smart home routine.