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US customers can search products, compare options, and track deals via text with Alexa Shopping. Alexa Shopping can create carts and place orders via text message.
Texting Alexa for shopping
Amazon announced that customers in the United States can use Alexa for Shopping, its AI-powered shopping assistant, to search for products and make purchases through text messages. Amazon said the new text feature lets users search for products, compare them, track deals and price drops, and authorize Alexa for Shopping to complete purchases on their behalf.
Amazon said the feature is rolling out to a small group of invited U.S. customers ahead of a broader launch in the coming weeks. Amazon said customers can text Alexa for Shopping with requests and have it build a shopping cart and provide delivery updates as purchases are made.
Access, compatibility, and continuity
Amazon said the texting capability starts rolling out today to a small group of U.S. customers by invitation only, with the option expanding to more customers over the coming weeks. Amazon said the feature requires a device compatible with RCS and that invited users need a personal Amazon account and a verified mobile number.
Amazon said the shopping contact appears on the phone under the name “Alexa Shopping,” and it can be used alongside the Amazon Shopping app, Amazon.com, and Alexa devices. Amazon said a gift search started in a message can continue in the app to compare options and finish the purchase, with preferences and ongoing task details maintained across interactions.
Competitive AI shopping boundaries
Amazon said the launch follows its recent move to block Meta’s AI shopping agent Muse from accessing its marketplace, saying the tool appeared to access its online store without authorization and store customer credentials. Amazon said it obtained a court order in March banning Komet, the shopping agent affiliated with Perblicity, though a US appellate court overturned the ban in August and the case remains ongoing.
Amazon said the text-based shopping feature is part of efforts to curb access to competing AI-powered shopping tools on its platform. Rajiv Mehta, vice president of Conversational Shopping at Amazon, said, "Now with Alexa for Shopping, your personal shopping agent is just a text away."
