Amazon Introduces Rufus AI Shopping Assistant

Amazon Inc. unveiled its newest technology based on artificial intelligence. The e-commerce giant said it created a shopping assistant called Rufus.

The Cutting-Edge Shopping Helper

The innovative AI tool was made to help shoppers search for items or shop for products. Users must log in to their Amazon app’s account and type or ask a question in the search bar to use it.

A chat window will instantly pop up at the bottom of the screen. Shoppers may ask questions, and the AI shopping assistant, Rufus, will immediately “converse” with the visitor. Customers may also ask Rufus to compare which products are better. CNBC further reported that Amazon’s AI assistant gives answers based on the company’s product catalog, Q&A, customer reviews, and other information that it can find on the web.

Official Launch of Rufus

Amazon stated that it is currently testing its new AI assistant with a small group of users in the United States. Once the testing ends, it plans to launch the tool officially in the coming weeks.

Aside from its e-commerce platform, Amazon’s chief executive officer, Andy Jassy, shared they are also looking to integrate generative AI across all of its businesses. The company is expected to give a new update regarding its AI efforts in its fourth-quarter earnings report.

“We are launching Rufus in beta and starting to roll it out to customers in waves, beginning with a small subset of customers in the U.S. using our mobile app, and progressively rolling it out to the rest of our U.S. customers in the coming weeks,” Rajiv Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of search and conversational shopping and Trishul Chilimbi, VP and distinguished scientist, stores foundational AI, jointly said in an announcement.

They added, “We are excited about the potential of generative AI and will continue testing new features to make it even easier to find and discover, research, and buy products in Amazon’s store. We look forward to progressively rolling Rufus out to additional U.S. customers in the coming weeks.”

Photo by: Amazon Newsroom