Amazon launched a text-based shopping feature for Alexa on Friday, allowing select U.S. customers to message the AI agent to search for items, add products to cart, and complete purchases on Amazon. The rollout comes just before the holiday shopping season.
Users invited to the feature can text Alexa natural language queries across shopping tasks. The agent can manage lists, track prices, search across the web, compare products, check order status, and analyze pictures of items or outfits to find similar listings. Amazon said Alexa will learn user preferences over time to suggest items.
The company is rolling out access through text invitations to select customers, with a waitlist available for those not initially included. Amazon plans to expand the feature more broadly in the coming weeks.
The move follows Amazon blocking Meta's Muse from querying its site in September. It also reflects a broader trend. DoorDash said in September it would focus on developing its own text-based agent after third-party agents placed only hundreds of orders on its platform.