Amazon lets shoppers text Alexa for Shopping
Amazon has added SMS access to Alexa for Shopping, its agentic shopping assistant, so customers can search, compare, and complete purchases by text message without opening the Amazon app.
Amazon announced that customers can now text Alexa for Shopping. Until now the assistant was available in the Amazon Shopping app and on the website. Users sign up on a landing page, and the agent shows up in their phone contacts as "Alexa Shopping."
Amazon describes the system as a personal shopping agent rather than a Q&A bot. Over text, it can find products, build a cart, complete purchases, and send delivery updates. Requests can include several tasks in one message. Amazon's example is "out of dog food, need a birthday gift for my sister, and we're low on paper towels." Users can also send photos of recipes or outfits and ask for matching items. Other features include up to a year of price history, alerts when prices drop or new products launch, and comparisons using reviews. Through Shop Direct, the agent can also find products from other retailers on the web.
The agent keeps track of preferences users share, such as "only show me organic options," and can be told to add items to the cart automatically. Amazon's reorder example says it buys "with your approval." Amazon is also rolling out continuity across text, the app, Amazon.com, and Alexa-enabled devices, so a conversation started in one place can continue in another.
"Message it what you need, and Alexa goes to work on your behalf—searching, comparing, and buying," said Rajiv Mehta, Amazon's vice president of Conversational Shopping.
The announcement does not give availability by country, pricing, or details on how purchases are confirmed by default.