Amazon adds text messaging to Alexa for Shopping

Amazon says select customers can text Alexa for Shopping with requests, using text messages to search for, compare and buy products from their phones.[1] The feature is initially rolling out by invitation only to a small group of U.S. customers.[1] Amazon says it will expand access to more customers over the coming weeks, and customers can sign up to be notified when it sends additional invitations.[1] Amazon’s announcement describes texting as one way to use Alexa for Shopping, which is also available in the Amazon Shopping app and on Amazon’s website.[1]

Amazon says Alexa for Shopping can find products, build a shopping cart, make purchases and provide delivery updates.[1] It can order customers’ weekly groceries, and customers can ask it to review a recipe and add the appropriate items to their cart.[1] Amazon also says the assistant can compare options, track deals and price drops, and check up to a full year of price history.[1] It can text customers when an item reaches a price they set as a target.[1] These capabilities let customers ask it to take actions rather than only provide answers, according to Amazon.[1]

Amazon says Alexa for Shopping can draw on hundreds of millions of products in Amazon’s store and elsewhere on the web.[1] The assistant uses product information, reviews and customers’ personal shopping histories, Amazon says.[1]

Amazon says more than 400 million customers used Alexa for Shopping in the 12 months before its announcement, and says use of its agentic features has grown more than eightfold since the start of the year.[2] Amazon says Alexa for Shopping has helped U.S. customers research, shop and purchase products since launching in February 2024.[3] Separately, Digiday reports that Sponsored Products ads are set to appear in text conversations and are free to advertisers for now, while purchases the assistant completes on its own will remain ad-free.[4] TechCrunch reports that Amazon said the texting feature would roll out to millions of users in the coming weeks.[5]