Amazon’s chatbot Rufus led sales on Black Friday

Amazon’s chatbot, Rufus, saw a significant increase in adoption on Black Friday, according to new data published by market intelligence firm Sensor Tower over the weekend. In the US, Amazon sessions that led to a purchase increased by 100% on Black Friday compared to the following 30 days, while sessions that led to a purchase and did not involve Rufus increased by only 20%.

Additionally, Amazon saw a 75% daily increase for sessions that included Rufus that led to a purchase, compared to just a 35% daily increase for sessions that did not include Rufus that resulted in a purchase.

The company also noted that Amazon sessions that included the AI-powered chatbot exceeded the website’s total sessions.

On Black Friday, Amazon’s total website sessions increased by 20% day over day, while Rufus’ total website sessions increased by 35%.

Amazon’s AI Chat first launched in beta in early 2024 before rolling out to all customers in the US later that year. Today, Rufus helps Amazon shoppers find products, get recommendations, and make product comparisons.

Data shows that the adoption of Rufus to drive Black Friday sales is part of a broader surge in consumers turning to artificial intelligence to help them with their holiday shopping.

According to e-commerce data from Adobe Analytics, which tracks more than one trillion visits to US retail sites, AI traffic to US retail sites increased 805% year over year on Black Friday. This indicates that consumers have more embraced AI-generated chatbots for finding deals and researching products this year. The AI ​​tools were mostly used for popular Black Friday deal categories such as electronics, video games, hardware, toys, personal care items, and baby and kids products.

Adobe Analytics also noted that using AI increased conversions. It found that US shoppers who came to a retail site through an AI service were 38% more likely to make a purchase, compared to non-AI traffic sources.

Whether AI directly contributed to Black Friday’s record spending of $11.8 billion is less clear. Instead, the large number this year may be due to higher prices, not an increase in online shopping. As TechCrunch reported on Saturday, Salesforce data showed that prices rose an average of 7%, while order volumes fell by 1%.

Sensor Tower data similarly suggests that consumers may have been more conservative in their spending this year, likely due to economic pressures. Although adoption of mobile apps and websites rose on Black Friday compared to the previous 30 days, gains in overall visits and downloads slowed from 2024, its data indicated.

For example, mobile app downloads from Amazon and Walmart increased by 24% and 20%, respectively, on Black Friday, compared to the previous 30 days. But that growth pales in comparison to 2024, when Amazon downloads rose 50% and Walmart downloads rose 75% during the same period, the company noted.

Amazon and Walmart’s Black Friday website visits are up 90% and 100% this year, respectively, compared to the previous 30 days. However, these same numbers in 2024 were 95% and 130%, respectively.

In a related Adobe survey, 48% of respondents said they have used or plan to use AI specifically for holiday shopping.

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