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Amazon is launching Alexa Plus shopping features that make it easier to track your orders and avoid missing out on deals. The AI-powered Alexa Plus assistant — like Amazon’s Rufus chatbot — can proactively track products to tell you when they’ve dropped to a specific price, and automatically purchase them when they fall below the designated threshold. You can now keep track of your purchases in a new shopping experience launching this week on the Echo Show 15 and 21.
These Alexa Plus price-tracking features, which were announced in February and started rolling out to Alexa Plus users in June, can monitor products in your Amazon basket and wish list, or track specific items as instructed. For example, it’s possible to ask it to notify you if the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer falls below $300. The smart assistant can also be told to automatically purchase stuff the moment it falls to a desired price, using your default Amazon shipping address and payment option to complete the order.
These auto-buy capabilities came to Amazon’s Rufus AI chatbot last month, allowing people to use the same features on the Amazon Shopping app. While it’s nice to have Alexa alert you to price drops for items in your basket, users should be wary about the feature ruining the gift-giving season for people in the same household.
Here’s what the new Shopping Essentials center looks like on Echo Show devices. Image: Amazon
A new shopping command center is available for the Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21, which sounds like an amalgamation of several existing widgets. The “Shopping Essentials” experience displays your recent orders, real-time delivery tracking, shopping list, and saved items, alongside suggested household essentials to repurchase. The feature can be activated by saying “Alexa, where’s my stuff?” or “Open Shopping Essentials.” Amazon says that Echo users will also be able to add a new shopping widget to their homescreen “soon.”
Amazon says that Alexa Plus will now prompt users to add additional goods to incoming deliveries to ensure any last-minute purchases arrive faster, suggesting products that can be added to the shipment “right up until it leaves the warehouse.”
Another new shopping feature is that users can now use Alexa Plus for personalized gift suggestions. After you provide details about who you’re shopping for or the occasion, Alexa Plus will generate personalized product recommendations, visually organized by category.