According to IT Home, Amazon is introducing Alexa Plus to its official website, integrating this AI assistant based on large language models directly into the platform's shopping experience.

Starting today, when users enter search terms on Amazon's official website, they will be connected to the new shopping assistant Alexa for Shopping, which is supported by Alexa Plus. That is to say, if you search for common items like "toilet paper", the page will still display the original brand list; but if you ask questions like "What skincare routine is suitable for men" or "When did I last buy size 5 batteries", Alexa will now provide intelligent answers.

Alexa for Shopping will replace Amazon's original AI shopping assistant Rufus. Unlike Rufus, it will occupy a core and prominent position in the Amazon app and official website. Amazon said that this new AI assistant will take over all the functions of Rufus and add a number of exclusive capabilities.

At the initial stage, Alexa for Shopping supports features such as setting price drop reminders, product comparison, and automatic repurchase. Users can customize rules to achieve automatic ordering, such as setting: "If the price of this sunscreen drops to $10 and I haven't bought it in the past two months, add it to the shopping cart automatically".

With the controversial smart shopping (Buy for Me) feature, Alexa for Shopping can also help users shop for products on other websites; it can query the annual price history of products and automatically search for good products and discounts for users through "scheduled intelligent tasks". All operations can be completed by simply stating your needs in the search bar.

Daniel Rausch, Vice President of Amazon's Alexa and Echo business, said that this service does not require registration of an Alexa account and is open to all American Amazon users. It will be fully launched in the coming weeks. In addition to the main search bar, Alexa for Shopping also has its own chat window entrance.

In an interview with tech media The Verge, Rausch said that Alexa for Shopping combines the capabilities of the original Alexa and Rufus, with the core advantages of deeper integration, more powerful features, and availability in all scenarios. Users can use this assistant on all Amazon platforms and Alexa smart devices to achieve cross-device service continuity.

He added that the service coverage of Alexa for Shopping is wider, relying on multi-model reasoning capabilities to answer user questions. In addition to Amazon platform data, it also grabs information from the entire network and combines it with user personal profiles to provide accurate customized answers.

Rausch explained with the example of scientific project procurement. If a user consults Alexa Plus on an Echo smart speaker or Show smart screen about scientific project ideas, and then opens the Amazon official website and enters "Help me list the items needed for scientific project procurement", Alexa for Shopping will take over the previous conversation context. In addition, the product price drop reminders set by users will be pushed to the Show smart screen and Amazon app simultaneously.

Compared with Amazon's traditional search, the response content of Alexa for Shopping is more complete and rich. Amazon's official blog introduces that when users are hesitant about product selection, it can generate a dedicated shopping guide based on users' core needs, integrating functions, prices, and user evaluations of Amazon and the entire network products for comprehensive comparison.

Rausch gave an example. If a user searches for "headphones suitable for traveling", the search results will be prioritized according to travel adaptation attributes, and Alexa will automatically pop up answers, integrating into the complete shopping process, with product horizontal comparison and AI summary generated based on user evaluations.

Relying on Alexa for Shopping, the shopping experience of Amazon Echo Show smart screen has also been comprehensively upgraded. Rausch revealed that the new fully integrated visual shopping interface has been launched on Echo Show 15 and 21 models, and will be adapted to Echo Show 8 and 11 models within the next month.

Previously, the shopping function of Echo Show devices was very limited and mainly relied on voice control. After the upgrade, the device will be equipped with a complete Amazon mall interface, supporting dual-mode browsing of the mall with voice commands + touch screen operations. Users can adjust regular subscription discount settings, modify order payment methods and delivery addresses through two operation methods, and filter products according to specific attributes.

IT Home noted that Google and OpenAI have previously introduced chatbot shopping assistance features, but market reactions have been mixed. Rausch believes that Alexa Plus has stronger advantages and can provide a one-stop full-process shopping experience, helping users from shopping ideas to actual delivery.

He said: "This kind of shopping experience is not an additional feature, nor is it simply piecing together a complete shopping link by grabbing information from a few websites. The reason why other manufacturers have failed is that this system is extremely complex and requires a lot of time to delve into and polish."

"What users really want is for AI to help them handle shopping matters in one stop," Rausch said. But to achieve full-process agency, users need to provide a large amount of personal data to the platform and highly trust the enterprise. Nowadays, the public's distrust of artificial intelligence is rising, which may become a big problem Amazon needs to overcome.