THE ESSENTIALS IN 30 SECONDS

  • Amazon announced on November 6 that invited US customers can text a contact called "Alexa Shopping" to find products, build carts, buy and follow orders.
  • The agent can watch prices and buy automatically when a target is hit, reorder past items with approval, and search from a photo.
  • Access is invitation-only for now; according to The Next Web, sponsored products can appear among the options it suggests.

Amazon said on November 6 that a small group of customers in the United States can now reach Alexa for Shopping, its AI shopping agent, by text message. The company plans to extend access to millions more customers over the coming weeks.

How texting the agent works

Access starts with an invitation. Customers who receive one accept the terms and link their phone number, after which a contact named "Alexa Shopping" appears on their phone. Those without an invitation can sign up for Amazon's text alerts to be told when more go out. Amazon's post does not say which messaging channel carries the conversations, and The Next Web notes that it is not specified.

Through texts, users can search for products, compare them, fill a cart, complete a purchase and check on packages. Amazon's examples include setting up a weekly grocery order, adding the ingredients of a recipe to a cart and searching from a photo for similar items. The agent can also track price drops, show up to a year of price history and alert users to new releases. Reorders of earlier purchases need the customer's approval, while an auto-buy option completes a purchase once a price target is met. Amazon says the agent remembers preferences, such as a request for vegan products only, and that a conversation started by text carries over to the Amazon Shopping app, Amazon.com and Alexa devices. Rajiv Mehta, Amazon's vice president of Conversational Shopping, presented the agent as "just a text away".

Ads and open questions

The Next Web, citing Digiday, reports that sponsored products can appear among the options the agent sends by text, although Amazon is not yet charging advertisers for those placements, and purchases the agent completes on its own carry no ads. Amazon's announcement does not mention spending limits, product exclusions or specific authentication steps for purchases made by text.

Context

According to The Next Web, Alexa for Shopping launched in May, and chief executive Andy Jassy said last week that he expects it to become the main way people buy from Amazon. The publication also notes that Amazon blocked Meta's Muse agent from shopping its site in September, and that other companies are turning to messaging too: OpenAI added texting to its Dot personal agent last month, and DoorDash has accepted orders by text since September.