Like it or not, Amazon continues to put AI at the center of the shopping journey. The company on Wednesday announced Alexa for Shopping, a new personalized AI shopping assistant powered by Alexa+.
Notably, this experience will replace Rufus, a generative AI shopping assistant launched in 2024. According to the company, Alexa for Shopping is designed to deliver voice- and touch-enabled shopping experiences on mobile, desktop, and Echo Show smart displays. While Rufus focuses on helping customers discover and compare products, Alexa for Shopping aims to provide more personalized recommendations and automate the shopping experience across Amazon and other online retailers.
Alexa for Shopping, now available to customers in the U.S., can answer anything from “What’s a good skin care routine for men?” “When was the last time you ordered AA batteries?” Users type the question into the main search bar or a dedicated Alexa for Shopping chat window, and Alexa provides customized answers and recommendations, as well as creating a custom shopping guide. The company says the assistant understands customers’ habits, preferences, and purchase history to provide “personalized assistance related to how they shop,” making the assistant “more personal and helpful over time.”
In addition to answering your questions, Alexa for Shopping can also help you compare products, track prices, and schedule recurring orders for essentials like pet food and paper towels. If you want something automatically added to your cart when it goes on sale, just ask Alexa, “When the price drops to $10, add this sunscreen to my cart.”
Additionally, the Assistant can also go beyond Amazon’s marketplace to shop at other online stores and process purchases using its “Buy for Me” feature. While this may seem convenient, it’s a bit controversial given growing concerns about AI autonomy and privacy.
The launch of Alexa for Shopping comes on the heels of Amazon introducing Amazon Now, a 30-minute delivery service in dozens of U.S. cities, and a new AI-powered feature that generates real-time conversational voice responses to customers’ product questions.
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