Amazon opens text line for Alexa shopping assistant

Amazon is enabling customers to purchase products by texting its AI shopping assistant, Alexa. The feature allows users to describe the goods they want or send a photograph of an item. Alexa for Shopping then searches Amazon listings for matches, sends recommendations back via text, and completes the order on the user's behalf.

This update expands the Alexa for Shopping experience that debuted in May. The new option targets moments where texting is more convenient than using the Amazon app or website. The assistant appears in phone messages under the name “Amazon Alexa.” It handles a range of requests, including weekly grocery orders, gift suggestions, and finding similar products based on images. The system also tracks personal preferences over time, such as dietary restrictions, and monitors prices to alert users when watched items go on sale.

The texting capability is currently available to a small group of Amazon customers in the United States. These early users received a text message inviting them to try the service. Amazon plans to expand access to “millions more customers” in the coming weeks.

Rajiv Mehta, vice president of Conversational Shopping at Amazon, described the logic behind the feature. “Customers often jot down what they need the moment they think of it in their notes, in their messages, in their group chats,” Mehta said. He added that the update makes the shopping agent accessible through text. “Message it what you need and Alexa goes to work on your behalf, searching, comparing, and buying so you can get on with your day.”

Other companies have recently adopted similar text-based interfaces for their AI assistants. OpenAI launched a feature last month that allows users to text its personal AI agent, Dot. DoorDash introduced a text-based ordering tool in September that provides dish recommendations and processes food orders through its Ask DoorDash chatbot.