Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, has officially been launched for all U.S. customers on the Amazon mobile app. This chatbot is designed to provide assistance to customers by helping them find products, compare them, and make recommendations on what to buy. Initially available in beta to select U.S. customers, Rufus has now been made accessible to all shoppers after being tested with millions of questions.
Rufus has been trained on Amazon’s product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As, and other publicly available information from the web. Although Amazon hasn’t disclosed the specific websites from which data was used, the assistant has been equipped with a large language model specialized for shopping. This allows customers to ask various questions about products, including factors to consider when purchasing, differences between products, and the quality of products based on customer reviews and expert analysis.
Customers can ask Rufus questions like “What to consider when buying headphones?” or “What do I need for cold weather golf?” and receive helpful recommendations. Additionally, customers can have a conversational interaction with Rufus by telling the AI something they want to do, such as starting an indoor garden, and receive suggestions on what to buy for that task.
During testing, Amazon observed that customers not only asked questions but also clicked on related questions in the chat window to further guide their queries. This indicates that customers found value in the additional information provided by Rufus. For instance, if a customer asked about the material of a backpack, they might also tap on another question asking about customer opinions.
Rufus goes beyond just product recommendations. It can provide information on topics like fashion trends and the latest tech models. Customers can ask about the latest version of a product or inquire about popular styles. Rufus also serves as an assistant for tracking past orders or obtaining information about the arrival of current orders.
To access Rufus, U.S. customers must have the latest version of the Amazon Shopping app. The assistant is available in the bottom navigation bar, represented by an icon with chat bubbles and a sparkle. TechCrunch found that Rufus generally performed well as a shopping companion, but it occasionally provided incorrect information and is limited to Amazon’s catalog, which may affect the quality of its recommendations.
Amazon has committed to further improving Rufus over time, ensuring that customers receive even better assistance and accurate recommendations. With its AI-powered shopping assistant, Amazon aims to enhance the customer shopping experience by providing personalized and helpful guidance throughout the shopping journey.
