Amazon announced on November 4 that it is launching a text messaging option that lets customers interact with its Alexa shopping agent. The feature, available initially to select U.S. users, allows natural-language texts to search for products, add items to a cart and complete purchases.
What the text agent can do
The company said the text agent builds on recent shopping-focused upgrades to Alexa. It can manage lists, monitor prices, search for items across the web, compare products and check order status. Users can also share a photo of an item or a person wearing an outfit to find similar listings on Amazon.
Amazon said Alexa will learn users’ preferences over time and may begin making suggested items based on those signals. Select customers will receive a text inviting them to enable the shopping feature; others can sign up to a waitlist. The company plans a broader rollout in the coming weeks, ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Market context and recent actions
The launch follows Amazon’s decision in September to block Meta’s Muse from querying its site. The move comes as multiple platforms develop consumer-facing AI agents and new interaction channels such as texting.
Other companies are taking similar paths: DoorDash said third-party agents had so far placed only hundreds of orders on its platform and that it intends to focus on its own text-based agent, which the delivery company launched in September.
Amazon characterized the texting feature as an extension of Alexa’s shopping capabilities rather than a replacement for existing interfaces. Users who are invited can begin texting Alexa to shop immediately; those without invitations can join the waitlist while Amazon expands access in the coming weeks.
Original source: TechCrunch AI