Amazon lets select US customers text Alexa to shop
Amazon announced a new feature letting select U.S. customers text its Alexa AI assistant to search for products, add items to cart, compare prices, check order status and complete purchases using natural language. Customers can also send photos of items or outfits to find similar products, and Amazon says Alexa will learn preferences over time to suggest items. Access is currently limited, with others able to join a waitlist ahead of a broader rollout in coming weeks.
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The launch comes shortly after Amazon blocked Meta's Muse from querying its site, suggesting the company wants to keep shopping-agent interactions on its own platform rather than ceding that interface to outside AI tools. Timed just before the holiday shopping season, the feature could be an attempt to capture conversational commerce traffic as rivals like DoorDash also push their own text-based agents. It reflects a broader industry trend of platforms building proprietary AI shopping assistants rather than allowing third-party agents to intermediate purchases.
- Amazon is rolling out a text-based Alexa shopping feature to select U.S. customers first.
- The feature supports natural-language shopping tasks including search, cart management, price tracking, and image-based product search.
- The launch follows Amazon's blocking of Meta's Muse agent and precedes the holiday shopping season.
Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) — Since Alexa is getting these new text-based shopping smarts, having an Echo Dot around means you can also just talk to Alexa directly for quick shopping tasks, reminders, and lists. It's an affordable way to bring Alexa into your home and try out these AI-powered shopping features firsthand.
See Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen) on Amazon → Affiliate link — we may earn a commission on purchases, at no extra cost to you. Product picked by AI based on this article; it is not a tested recommendation.Source: techcrunch.com — Ivan Mehta, 2026-11-06
Published there as: “After blocking Muse, Amazon now lets users text Alexa to help them shop”
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