According to reports, including Geekwire, the goal of the new program is to make shopping work more like having a personal assistant.

  Amazon’s New Feature Rolls Out

The formal title is Alexa for Shopping AI Agent.  When the program, or app, gets a message or photo, it goes to work finding it on Amazon, and texts back when it’s done.

More and more companies are offering AI-assisted programs for everyday use, and this is the latest to capitalize on that trend.

  The Program Began to Roll Out Friday November 6th

According to Geekwire:

“The expansion of Amazon’s AI shopping assistant comes amid a larger fight over who controls online shopping when agents do the buying. Amazon has moved to block outside agents from Meta, Perplexity, Google and OpenAI from shopping its site while building its own.”

You’ve probably seen the ads on TV about personal digital online shopping apps and programs, this is the latest.

Experts also say it’s another opportunity for Amazon to sell products, as sponsored products can appear among the options or products that the AI agent texts back to the consumer.

 If You Opt In, Here’s What Happens

If a consumer chooses to opt in, they will receive a contact called “Alexa Shopping” and can set it up from there.

Friday’s rollout was by invitation to a limited number of consumers, millions more will receive the opportunity to enroll in the coming weeks and months.