Amazon launches Alexa for Shopping to replace Rufus

On Wednesday, Amazon announced the launch of “Alexa for Shopping,” a new personalized AI shopping assistant powered by its Alexa+ technology. The new experience replaces Rufus, the company’s previous generative AI shopping assistant that launched in 2024. Alexa for Shopping is designed to offer a voice- and touch-enabled experience across mobile, desktop, and Echo Show—Amazon’s smart display hardware. While Rufus focused primarily on helping customers discover and compare products, Alexa for Shopping is meant to provide more personalized recommendations and automate the shopping experience across Amazon and other online retailers.

Currently available to U.S. customers, the assistant can answer product questions, ranging from queries about skincare routines for men to tracking when a user last ordered AA batteries. It can also compare items, track prices, and schedule recurring orders for everyday essentials like pet food or paper towels. Users can type their questions directly into the main search bar or use a dedicated Alexa for Shopping chat window. From there, the assistant provides tailored answers, recommendations, and custom shopping guides. The assistant is designed to understand customers’ habits, preferences, and purchase history to bring personalized assistance to how they shop, making the assistant more helpful over time. A key feature of the assistant is its ability to automate purchases based on specific user instructions. For example, a user can instruct the assistant to add an item to their cart if the price drops to a specific threshold, such as $10, by telling the assistant to add a specific sunscreen to the cart if its price drops to that amount.

Beyond Amazon’s own marketplace, the assistant can also shop at other online stores. It uses a “Buy for Me” feature to handle these external transactions directly on behalf of the user. This capability could be seen as convenient but also a little controversial, given the growing concern around AI autonomy and privacy.

The rollout of Alexa for Shopping follows other recent updates to Amazon’s retail operations, including the introduction of “Amazon Now,” a 30-minute delivery service in dozens of U.S. cities. The company has also recently introduced an AI-powered feature that generates real-time conversational audio responses to customer questions about products, further embedding artificial intelligence into its core e-commerce platform.

Why it matters

Amazon is shifting its retail AI strategy from simple product discovery to active shopping automation. By introducing tools that can execute transactions across external websites, the company is signaling a broader move toward autonomous AI agents that act directly on behalf of the consumer.