Amazon has just introduced a new shopping assistant that applies artificial intelligence called Alexa for Shopping, marking a new step in the company's strategy of expanding AI into the retail ecosystem.
This tool is supported by the Alexa+ platform and will replace Rufus, an AI shopping chatbot launched by Amazon in 2024.
According to Amazon, Alexa for Shopping is developed with the goal of bringing a more personalized and proactive shopping experience to users on Echo Show phones, web browsers and smart devices.
Unlike Rufus, which focuses on supporting product search, discovery and comparison, the new AI assistant plays the role of a companion in online shopping.
This tool can answer questions, suggest products, track price fluctuations, build shopping guides and automate the ordering process according to user consumption habits.
Amazon said that Alexa for Shopping is trained based on customer purchase history, preferences and usage behavior to make increasingly accurate recommendations over time.
Users can chat with this AI assistant through the main search bar on Amazon or a private chat interface.
The system has the ability to support many different needs such as skin care advice, technology device suggestions or looking up previous purchase history.
One of the notable features is the ability to automatically purchase goods according to user-defined conditions.
For example, users can ask Alexa to automatically order products when prices fall below the desired level or create periodic orders for essential items such as pet food, toilet paper or household items.
Amazon also introduced a new service called Buy for Me, allowing AI assistants to buy goods on behalf of users not only on Amazon but also at other online stores.
This is seen as a step showing the company's ambition to build an AI-based automated shopping experience.
However, giving the right to purchase to artificial intelligence also raises concerns related to privacy, reliability and the level of user control over shopping decisions.
Amazon's new move comes as major technology corporations are racing to integrate AI into e-commerce operations.
Previously, the company deployed product feedback via conversations created by AI, and expanded the Amazon Now fast delivery service in some cities in the US.
Alexa for Shopping is being deployed for users in the US and is expected to continue to expand in the near future.
