Overview
- Amazon launched Alexa for Shopping on Wednesday, replacing the Rufus chatbot and building the AI assistant into the main search bar on its website and apps.
- The assistant answers open-ended questions, compares products, shows up to a year of price history, sets price alerts, and can place orders automatically under user-defined rules.
- A Buy for Me feature lets Alexa complete purchases on other retailers’ sites, which has prompted complaints from some merchants who say they never opted into the program.
- The rollout is free for signed-in U.S. customers with no Prime or Echo required, and Echo Show devices gain a full visual storefront that works by voice and touch.
- Amazon says access to order history, customer reviews, and real-time stock and delivery data is its edge as rivals rethink their tools, with OpenAI pulling back in-chat checkout and a court order restricting Perplexity’s browser on Amazon pending appeal.