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Amazon is bringing more artificial intelligence into its platform with the launch of a new AI shopping assistant called Rufus. The Seattle tech giant announced the new tool on Thursday, describing it as a way to make online shopping easier and more intuitive for customers.
With Rufus, shoppers can have natural conversations by typing or speaking questions into the Amazon app search bar. A chat window will then pop up to provide personalised answers and recommendations. For example, customers can ask comparative questions like “what’s the difference between trail running and road running shoes?” Rufus will draw upon Amazon’s extensive product catalogue, customer reviews, and other sources to explain the key distinctions.
The AI assistant is designed to understand casual language and conversational questions. Customers can ask Rufus for gift recommendations like “what are some good gifts for mom under $50?” or request advice for specific activities such as “what hiking boots would you recommend for women?” According to Amazon, Rufus will provide tailored responses to make shopping less confusing.
Amazon claimed that Rufus will get smarter over time as more people use it. The assistant will apparently learn from customer questions and refine its knowledge base. Rufus can also help shoppers dig deeper into product research. For instance, it can explain general considerations for categories like headphones, car detailing supplies, or clean beauty products.
The company sees Rufus as integral to its strategy of incorporating more AI across its platforms. Last year, Amazon unveiled a summarising tool that uses AI to create short summaries of customer reviews. It has also tested AI for generating product listing descriptions to assist third-party sellers. With Rufus, the tech giant aims to harness the recent enthusiasm around chatbots like ChatGPT.
Right now, Rufus is only available to select customers in the US since it’s undergoing beta testing. But Amazon expects to expand access over the coming weeks as it gathers feedback. The launch comes ahead of Amazon’s fourth-quarter earnings results on Thursday afternoon. The report will likely include more details about Amazon’s expanding AI efforts and long-term roadmap.
