Amazon launches AI shopping assistant for its search bar, powered by Alexa+

Like it or not, Amazon continues to put AI at the center of the shopping journey. The company on Wednesday announced “Alexa for Shopping,” its new AI-powered personal shopping assistant powered by Alexa+.

Notably, this experience will replace Rufus, the innovative AI-powered shopping assistant that launched in 2024. According to the company, Alexa for Shopping is designed to deliver a voice- and touch-powered shopping experience across 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 is now available to US customers, and can answer any question from “What’s a good skincare routine for men?” to “When did you last order AA batteries?” Users can type their questions into the main search bar or into Alexa’s dedicated shopping chat window, and Alexa will provide personalized answers, recommendations, and even create personalized shopping guides. The company says the Assistant understands customers’ habits, preferences, and purchasing history to provide “that connected, personalized help with how to shop” and to make the Assistant “more personal and more useful over time.”

In addition to answering questions, Alexa for Shopping can compare products, track prices, and even schedule recurring orders for essentials like pet food or paper towels. If you want something automatically added to your cart when it goes on sale, you can just tell Alexa, “Add this sunscreen to my cart if the price drops to $10.”

In addition, the Assistant can also bypass Amazon’s marketplace, shop at other online stores and use the “Buy for Me” feature to handle the purchase for you, which can be considered convenient but is also a bit controversial, given the growing concern around AI autonomy and privacy.

The launch of Alexa for Shopping comes on the heels of Amazon introducing its 30-minute delivery service, “Amazon Now,” in dozens of US cities, and a new AI-powered feature that creates real-time conversational voice responses to customer questions about a product.