Amazon rolls out text-based shopping through Alexa

Amazon on Friday said US customers would be able to use Alexa for Shopping, its AI-powered shopping assistant, to search for products and make purchases through text messages.

Here are some details:

Amazon said the new text feature lets users research and compare products, track deals and price drops, and have Alexa for Shopping complete purchases on their behalf.

The feature is rolling out to a small group of invited US customers ahead of a broader launch in the coming weeks, Amazon said.

The launch follows Amazon's recent move to block Meta's AI shopping agent, Muse, from accessing its marketplace, saying the tool appeared to access its online store without authorisation and store customer credentials.

Amazon also won a court order blocking Perplexity's shopping agent, Comet, in March, though a US appeals court overturned the ban in August. The case remains ongoing.