Amazon Embraces Text-Based AI Shopping
Amazon is jumping on one of the most popular trends for interacting with AI agents: texting. On Friday, the company announced a new feature that lets customers chat with its Alexa AI agent over text messages to help them shop—much like the experience offered by AI agents such as Meta's Muse or Instinct.
The move comes after Amazon blocked Meta's Muse from querying its site in September 2026. Amazon is rolling out the feature just ahead of the holiday shopping season.
How It Works
The e-commerce giant said select U.S. customers will receive a text asking them to enable the shopping feature. Those with access can text Alexa to shop on Amazon using natural language queries—covering everything from searching for items and adding them to a cart to completing a purchase.
The text agent builds on Amazon's recent shopping-focused Alexa upgrades, which means it can manage lists, track prices, search for items across the web, compare products, and check order status. Users can also share a photo of an item or of someone wearing an outfit to search for similar listings on Amazon.
Amazon said that over time, Alexa will learn users' preferences and suggest items accordingly.
Waitlist and Broader Rollout
Customers who don't receive an invitation can sign up for a waitlist. Amazon said the feature will be rolled out more broadly in the coming weeks.
The Growing Consumer AI Agent Market
As the market for consumer-focused AI agents expands rapidly, platforms like Amazon are building their own to tap into this new avenue of user interaction. Last month, delivery company DoorDash said that third-party agents had so far placed only hundreds of orders in total on its platform, and that it plans to concentrate on further developing its own text-based agent, which launched in September.
Image Credits: Amazon
via TechCrunch AI