- Amazon launched AI shopping assistant Rufus in beta.
- It offers product recommendations and shopping query answers using advanced AI.
- Launch builds on Amazon’s growing investment in AI for shopping.
Amazon has unveiled its latest AI creation, a virtual shopping assistant named Rufus. Launching today in beta for select U.S. mobile app users before expanding over the next few weeks, Rufus aims to provide personalized product recommendations and convenient answers to shopping questions using AI technology.
Rufus’ advanced shopping capabilities
“We built Rufus from the ground up to understand our vast catalog and provide helpful recommendations,” said an Amazon spokesperson.
They highlighted Rufus’ ability to compare products, summarize reviews, suggest gifts, and more based on Amazon’s data and publicly available information.
Amazon’s AI investment
Users can chat with Rufus by typing or speaking questions within the Amazon shopping app about products, categories, or general shopping needs. Rufus then provides tailored responses and the ability to refine searches and results further.
The launch builds on Amazon’s growing investment into AI for shopping, including automated fit recommendations for apparel and summarized sentiment analysis on reviews. While still early for generative AI, Amazon plans to improve Rufus over time based on user feedback continuously.
The company hasn’t ruled out exploring advertising or other opportunities down the line if there is customer value.
