Amazon now lets some US shoppers text Alexa to find products, track prices and complete purchases for them, so check what it puts in your basket.
Amazon has launched a shopping service you use by text message. It is called Alexa for Shopping. You send a request, and the AI assistant can find products, compare prices and buy items for you. It is rolling out first to a small group of invited customers in the US.
Amazon says the assistant can remember your preferences and past purchases, so its suggestions should get more personal over time.
For now, only a small group of invited US customers. Amazon plans to open it to millions more shoppers in the coming weeks. The material does not say what it costs, how to join the invite list or what number to text. Amazon has not said when it will reach the UK.
This is part of what the industry calls agentic commerce. That simply means AI assistants that do shopping tasks and complete transactions for you, not just offer ideas. Amazon says more than 400 million customers used Alexa for Shopping over the past 12 months. It also says the number using its agentic features is up more than eightfold since the start of the year.
Amazon is also guarding its store against outside AI shoppers. It recently blocked Meta's shopping assistant, Muse, saying the tool appeared to access the store without permission and store customer credentials. It is also in a legal dispute with AI startup Perplexity over its Comet shopping agent. Amazon won a court order against the tool in March. A US appeals court overturned it in August. The case is still going.
Letting an AI buy for you can save time, but it also hands over some control. If you get access, check what it adds to your basket before an order goes through. Also check which saved payment details it can use. Small mistakes are easier to fix before you pay than after.
If you try Amazon's texting assistant, review each basket and know which saved payment details it can use before it buys.
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