Amazon launches text-based Alexa shopping agent for US customers
Amazon is rolling out a text-based interface for its Alexa AI agent to facilitate shopping for select US customers. The feature allows users to manage carts and track orders via natural language, following a recent block of Meta's agent.
Amazon is launching a feature allowing customers to chat with its Alexa AI agent via text messages to facilitate shopping, rolling out just before the holiday season. Select U.S. customers will receive a text invitation to enable the feature, which allows natural language queries for searching items, adding them to carts, and purchasing. The agent can manage lists, track prices, search the web, compare products, and check order status. Users can also share images of items or outfits to find similar listings. The feature builds on recent shopping upgrades to Alexa and will learn user preferences over time. This launch follows Amazon's decision in September to block Meta's Muse agent from querying its site. Users not invited can join a waitlist, with broader rollout planned for coming weeks. The company stated on Friday that it is launching the feature to help customers shop via text messages.