Amazon is expanding its AI-powered shopping assistant by allowing customers to search for products and place orders through text messages. The new feature, called Alexa for Shopping, gives users another way to interact with the company's digital assistant without opening the Amazon app or speaking to an Alexa-enabled device.
The service is initially being made available to a small group of invited customers in the United States. Amazon plans to extend access to millions more users over the coming weeks as it looks to make AI-powered shopping more accessible.
Invited customers can link their phone numbers and begin communicating with Alexa for Shopping about the products they want to buy or need help with. It can compare products, offer relevant suggestions, and add desired items to the cart. With customers' permission, the assistant can make the purchase for them.
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Among other things, the new feature can help with common shopping tasks such as grocery delivery, gift buying, product reordering, and order status checks. Customers can ask Alexa to track the prices of particular items and notify them about any discounts.
According to Amazon, the assistant can store the customers' preferences and learn from them while making suggestions. For instance, customers can inform it about their dietary restrictions or their preferences.
The new service follows Amazon's launch of Alexa for Shopping earlier this year. The service is available on the Amazon Shopping app and website, and with the recent upgrade, customers can now access it via text messages.