If you’re someone who uses their Notes app for pretty much everything, from grocery lists to gift ideas and things you need to buy eventually, Amazon has a new alternative.
The e-commerce giant is allowing customers to text its AI shopping assistant directly, sending requests just as they would to a friend or dropping a reminder into their phone.
And advertisers are coming along for the ride, with Sponsored Product placements now appearing inside replies from Amazon’s AI shopping assistant as the company experiments with a new way for brands to reach consumers.
For now, texting with ‘Alexa for Shopping’ is available to a select group of US customers through an invite-only rollout, with Amazon saying it plans to expand access to “millions more customers in the coming weeks”.
The text-based experience allows users to send natural-language requests to the assistant to find products, compare options, build shopping carts and even make purchases.
That could mean asking Alexa to put together a weekly grocery order, find a gift for someone, or remind it to reorder something a customer is running low on.
Customers can also get ahead of upcoming sales by asking the assistant to track deals and prices, rather than having to remember to check back themselves.
And product discovery is getting a visual upgrade too. Amazon says customers can share a photo of an outfit they’ve spotted while scrolling and ask Alexa to find similar items.
“Alexa for Shopping takes it from there,” the company said, with the assistant able to find relevant products, add items to carts and complete purchases on the customer’s behalf.
The assistant can also manage shopping lists, track prices, notify customers about new releases, compare products and check an item’s pricing history to help determine whether they’re getting a good deal.
“Customers often jot down what they need the moment they think of it in their notes, in their messages, in their group chats,” said Rajiv Mehta, vice president of conversational shopping at Amazon.
“Now with Alexa for Shopping, your personal shopping agent is just a text away. Message it what you need, and Alexa goes to work on your behalf – searching, comparing, and buying so you can get on with your day.”
For advertisers, however, the more interesting development might be what’s appearing inside those conversations.
Amazon is introducing Sponsored Product placements within Alexa’s text-based responses, creating another potential touchpoint for brands as consumers increasingly turn to AI assistants to research and purchase products.
Existing Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns running across the Amazon Shopping app and website are automatically eligible to appear in these AI-generated conversations.
That means advertisers do not need to make any additional changes to their campaigns to become eligible for the placements. Amazon is not currently charging advertisers specifically for these appearances as it experiments with the format.
The move offers an early glimpse into how retail media advertising could evolve as shopping shifts towards conversational AI, with brands potentially reaching consumers not just when they search for a product, but when they ask an AI agent what they should buy.
