Amazon announced on Friday that it will launch a feature allowing customers to chat with its Alexa AI agent over text messages to assist with shopping. This shift marks a return to user interaction after the company blocked Meta’s Muse from querying its site in September. Select U.S. customers will receive a text inviting them to enable the new capability, which permits natural language queries for searching items, adding products to a cart, and completing purchases. The text agent expands on recent upgrades to Alexa’s shopping functions, enabling users to manage lists, track prices, search across the web, compare products, and check order status. Users can also share images of items or outfits to find similar listings on the platform. Over time, the system will learn individual preferences to suggest relevant items. Those without immediate access can sign up for a waitlist as the feature rolls out more broadly in the coming weeks. This move aligns with other platforms like DoorDash, which noted that third-party agents had placed only hundreds of orders on its platform last month and plans to focus on its own text-based agent.
The initiative signals Amazon’s strategy to retain direct control over consumer interactions as the market for AI agents grows. By integrating shopping capabilities directly into a text interface, the company aims to reduce reliance on external agents that might access its data. The rollout timing coincides with the start of the holiday shopping season, suggesting a focus on immediate utility for users.
* Feature launches for select U.S. customers via text invitation
* Users can share images to search for similar Amazon listings
* DoorDash reported limited success with third-party agents on its platform
