Amazon Unveils 'Interests': A New AI-Powered Personalized Shopping Assistant

Amazon launches personalized shopping prompts as part of its generative AI push | TechCrunch

Amazon continues to infuse AI into its shopping tools to encourage customers to make more purchases. The company announced on Wednesday a new feature called "Interests," aimed at creating a more personalized and conversational search experience. With the new feature, customers can enter tailored prompts in the search bar, reflecting their interests, preferences, and even their budget. For example, users might ask for "model building kits and accessories for hobbyist engineers" or "brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers." Interests leverages large language models (LLMs) to convert everyday language into queries that traditional search engines can understand, resulting in more relevant product suggestions. Additionally, the tool continuously works in the background, notifying users when new items that match their interests become available, as well as providing updates on relevant products, restocks, and deals. Currently, Interests is available to a select group of users in the U.S. via the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android devices, as well as on the mobile website under the "Me" tab. The company plans to expand access to more U.S. customers in the coming months. The Interests feature represents a natural progression for the tech giant as it continues to integrate AI into its app. The feature joins a host of AI-powered features already on Amazon, including its AI shopping assistant Rufus, AI Shopping Guides, review summaries, AI-generated product information, and more. Plus, several other companies are likely to follow suit in order to enhance the shopping experience for customers, and some have already begun to do so. For instance, Google has recently upgraded its Shopping tab, introducing a "Vision Match" tool that allows shoppers to describe a garment they envision, with the AI suggesting similar ideas based on the description. It also launched an AI summary tool to provide product information.

Amazon's New AI Shopping Assistant Knows What You Like

Samantha Kelly is a freelance writer with a focus on consumer technology, AI, social media, Big Tech, emerging trends and how they impact our everyday lives. Her work has been featured on CNN, NBC, NPR, the BBC, Mashable and more. Amazon is looking for more ways to personalize your shopping experience by unveiling a new generative artificial intelligence tool. Amazon's new feature, called Interests, was announced on Wednesday as a way to help you discover products in its store that match your hobbies and preferences. Amazon said its AI tool, for instance, might suggest new football apparel to an NFL fan, golf equipment to an avid golfer or photography gear to someone who loves to take pictures. The tool, which continuously works in the background, is designed to help shoppers cut through the clutter and surface items that best resonate with them. You can use conversational language -- such as "brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers" -- and the AI will scan Amazon's store for relevant products. The feature also will generate tailored recommendations based on a shoppers' price limits. Amazon Interests is currently available to a small group of US customers in the Amazon Shopping app and on its mobile website, with plans to expand access in the coming months. For people with early access, it will appear under the "Me" tab in the Amazon Shopping app. This is the latest upgrade in a growing lineup of AI advancements from Amazon, including a more conversational Alexa, more AI-generated review summaries and enhancements to Rufus, its existing AI-powered shopping assistant. It also comes at a time when tech companies are exploring how AI systems can act more like true assistants and provide meaningful support to users. But Sucharita Kodali, an analyst at market research firm Forrester, said the tool feels like an extension of existing personalization systems that have already long been used in retail. "It sounds to me like just another recommendation engine with a preference center layer," Kodali said. "Maybe there's a prettier user interface to excite people but it doesn't sound that different to me than functionality e-commerce has had for decades now."

Amazon Launches an AI Shopping Assistant That Knows What You Like

Samantha Kelly is a freelance writer with a focus on consumer technology, AI, social media, Big Tech, emerging trends and how they impact our everyday lives. Her work has been featured on CNN, NBC, NPR, the BBC, Mashable and more. Amazon is the latest tech company to unveil a new generative AI tool intended to personalize your online experience. In a blog post on Wednesday, Amazon announced a new feature called Interests to help shoppers discover products in its store that match their hobbies and preferences. The company said that, for example, the AI might suggest new football apparel to an NFL fan, golf equipment to an avid golfer or photography gear to someone who loves to take pictures. The tool, which continuously works in the background, is designed to help shoppers cut through the clutter and surface items that best resonate with them. Shoppers can use conversational language - such as "brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers" - and the AI will scan Amazon's store for relevant products. The feature will also generate tailored recommendations based on a shoppers' price limits. This is the latest upgrade in a growing lineup of AI advancements from Amazon, including a more conversational Alexa, more AI-generated review summaries and enhancements to Rufus, its existing AI-powered shopping assistant. It also comes at a time when tech companies are exploring how AI systems can act more like true assistants and provide meaningful support to users. The news coincides with Amazon's Spring Sale, which has savings across electronics, home goods, everyday essentials and more. The feature is currently available to a small group of US customers in the Amazon Shopping app and on its mobile website, with plans to expand access in the coming months. For people with early access, it will appear under the "Me" tab in the Amazon Shopping app.

Amazon is testing shopping, health assistants as it pushes deeper into generative AI

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy speaks during an Amazon Devices launch event in New York City, U.S., February 26, 2025. Amazon, in an effort to infuse generative artificial intelligence across a wider swath of its e-commerce universe, recently began testing a shopping assistant and a health-focused chatbot with a subset of users. AI has become a major area of investment across Amazon, including in its retail, cloud computing, devices and health-care businesses. Within the retail business, Amazon has already launched a shopping chatbot, an AI assistant for sellers and AI shopping guides. The new services Amazon is testing appeared on its app or website in recent weeks. The shopping tool, called Interests AI, prompts users to describe an interest "using your own words," and then it generates a curated selection of products. The feature lets consumers browse for products using more conversational language and is separate from the main search bar on Amazon's website.

Amazon has a new AI-powered tool for shopping

Amazon has a new AI-powered tool for shopping Give it a prompt and it should show you some decent options. A day without a company announcing some new way AI can supposedly make our lives better is rare. Today it's Amazon, which has announced a new AI-powered feature called "Interests." It lets you enter personalized shopping prompts based on your, well, interests and price limits -- and it arrives just in time for Amazon's Spring Sale. Interests can handle prompts with everyday language, like "Brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers" or "Natural makeup products for summer glow from top brands." The AI-powered feature will then look through Amazon's store to see current offerings and send you notifications about any deals, new products or restocks that are relevant to your prompt. Shopping on Amazon can sometimes feel like a never-ending pit of decent enough options, so hopefully this feature provides a more tailored selection. Amazon has only released Interests to a small group of customers in the US and only through the app or mobile website. You can check if it's available to you by looking under the "Me" tab in the Amazon shopping app. Otherwise, Amazon plans to roll out Interests to all of its US users in the coming months.

Amazon enlists AI to help shoppers overwhelmed by too many choices

Amazon is making things easier for shoppers to find products based on their interests with the help of an AI called... Interests. The online retail company wrote in a blog post on Tuesday that Interests will check new inventory across the site and help you narrow down the products you need when you create personalized prompts related to your interests using everyday language. For example, if you need new pickleball gear, you type in "The latest pickleball gear and accessories" and it will scan the site for the newest pickleball paddles, balls, nets, and other accessories from trusted sports brands. If you're a photographer in need of new cameras and tripods, you might say "The latest cameras and tripods for photographers" and the AI will quickly search for the newest photography gear in stock to recommend. Recommended Videos Interests will also send you notifications about new and relevant products related to your interests, as well as restocks and deals. To access Interests, tap on the Me tab in the Amazon app. The new shopping AI tool is the latest in Amazon's push for more AI-powered features on the shopping platform. Last month, Amazon replaced the Inspire feed with the AI chatbot Rufus, which operates in a similar manner to Interests, except it asks for more information about the products you're looking for, whether you're shopping for yourself or for someone else. The company also launched Alexa+, an Ai-powered rebirth next-gen version of the original Alexa that can have more natural conversations with its users with natural language capabilities, as well the ability to turn commands into routines and recall details about users' preferences and favorites, among other upgrades. Interests is available on Amazon's iOS and Android app and mobile website for a select group of users in the U.S. for now, but will roll out to the rest of the country in the coming months.

Amazon introduces AI-powered Interests feature for its e-commerce marketplace - SiliconANGLE

Amazon introduces AI-powered Interests feature for its e-commerce marketplace Amazon.com Inc. is rolling out an artificial intelligence feature called Interests to help users discover products in its e-commerce marketplace. Daniel Lloyd, the company's vice president of personalization, detailed the capability in a Tuesday blog post. It's the latest in a series of consumer-focused AI features that the company has introduced since the start of the year. To use Interests, shoppers must enter a natural language overview of the products they wish to buy. A prompt can describe a specific type of item or a broad merchandise category such as "computer accessories." Users can also input related details such as their pricing preferences. From there, Interests generates an alert whenever products that meet the provided criteria become available on Amazon. The feature detects not only new product launches but also cases when an out-of-stock item returns to the platform. According to Amazon, Interests can also help customers spot deals. Under the hood, the feature uses large language models to enhance users' product queries. If a shopper asks Interests to monitor for new smartphone launches, the LLMs might add in a list of top handset makers. This extra information helps Amazon's search algorithms find more relevant results. "Interests is currently available to a small subset of U.S. customers in our U.S. app (iOS and Android) and mobile website, and we look forward to rolling it out to the rest of U.S. customers in the coming months," Daniel Lloyd wrote in the blog post. According to CNBC, Amazon started rolling out Interests alongside a second new AI feature called Health AI. It can answer health and wellness questions as well as recommend relevant products. Some responses reportedly include a badge that indicates the information they contain was "reviewed by US-based licensed clinicians." Health AI and Interests are rolling out less than two months after Amazon debuted Rufus, another machine learning tool for consumers. It's a shopping assistant designed to help users browse the merchandise in the company's e-commerce marketplace. Rufus can answer product questions in a natural language format. The tool lends itself to, among other tasks, explaining the differences between similar items. Amazon says that Rufus generates answers based on information from product listings, shopper reviews and the broader web.

Amazon's AI-Powered Search Actually Sounds Like a Good Way to Shop

Everyone Will Soon Be Able to Use Google Search's Worst Experiment Yet Shopping on Amazon can be difficult, especially if you don't know exactly what you want to buy. But with an interesting new feature, the retailing giant is actually putting AI to good use. Interests Helps You Find New Items You Might Want Interests uses AI to help scan for new inventory that's been added to Amazon to help locate items you might want to purchase. Amazon describes more about how Interests works: With Interests, you can create personalized shopping prompts tailored to your interests, price limits, and preferences, from mainstream to niche, using everyday language. Simply describe what you're looking for, from "Model building kits and accessories for hobbyist engineers and designers" or "Brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers" to "The latest pickleball gear and accessories." Once you've created your prompt, Interests will do the work for you, continuously scanning Amazon's store and proactively notifying you about newly available and relevant products, restocks, and deals that align with your interests. Interests use AI to translate everyday language into queries and attributes that search engines can then turn into product recommendations. You will receive a notification if any type of update is found. The feature is currently available to a few Amazon users on the iPhone and Android app and mobile site. To see if you have access to the feature, you'll see Interests when tapping the Me tab in the Amazon shopping app. It will roll out to the rest of the United States "in the coming months," according to Amazon. Amazon Continues to Use AI Tools to Help You Shop and Buy More Products Sure, AI seems to be added to anything and everything these days, but Interests actually seems like a useful way to help you better find what you want from Amazon. Instead of having to spend unwanted time trying to find something, you can simply create an Interest and then let the AI do the rest of the hard work. While I don't have access to the feature yet, I can't wait to try it out once it becomes more widely available. As you probably know, Interests isn't the first time Amazon has rolled out AI shopping tools. One of the most well known is Rufus. The shopping assistant is trained on product listings, reviews, and Q&As to give you more detailed information about Amazon products. While it has gotten a bad rap, Rufus is probably more useful than you realize. It can help you learn before you buy, make better choices between similar products, and learn before you buy. Amazon is also banking on AI to improve the popular Alexa voice assistant in its Echo speaker lineup. Alexa+ was introduced in February 2025 and will start rolling out to some users soon.

Amazon AI Shopping Tool Is Changing How You Discover New Products - Phandroid

Amazon has launched a new AI shopping tool called Interests, designed to change how you discover products online. Built on large language models, the Amazon AI shopping tool transforms casual search prompts into dynamic, personalized recommendations that evolve over time. Let's say you're a fan of vinyl records, minimalist decor, or hobbyist drones. Instead of manually browsing through endless categories, you can simply tell Amazon what you're into. The AI then works in the background, constantly scanning new listings and proactively notifying you about relevant products, restocks, or deals that match your profile. Amazon's AI understands everyday language and can translate vague requests into specific attributes. For instance, asking for "natural makeup products for a summer glow from top brands" prompts the system to interpret "top brands" using its internal data. It then surfaces real items from known beauty lines, matching your style and seasonal preference. You can even fine-tune results with complex prompts like: "I'm looking for wall art to decorate my home. I want something abstract or modern made of black metal, not canvas." The Amazon AI shopping tool parses this into materials, themes, and formats -- then keeps hunting for a match long after you've closed the app. Currently, Interests is rolling out to a limited number of users in the U.S. on mobile platforms. If you're eligible, you'll find it under the "Me" tab in the Amazon Shopping app. Future expansions are expected in the coming months. With Interests and other tools like Rufus and AI Shopping Guides, Amazon is quietly reshaping how online shopping works. The end goal? To make product discovery seamless -- and keep you one step ahead of your own wishlist.

Amazon Tests 'Interests' AI shopping tool, Health Chatbot

Amazon is also testing a chatbot focused on health and wellness. Amazon (AMZN) is testing both a new artificial intelligence (AI) shopping tool that finds new products matching a consumer's interests and a health-focused chatbot, as the company moves forward to deploy the technology on its platforms. The shopping feature, called Interests, allows consumers to create personalized shopping prompts "using everyday language," according to the company's webpage. Once a consumer puts in what they are looking for -- for instance, Amazon notes, "brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers," -- Interests will scan the online store and notify the person of the latest products. Amazon has made Interests available to a small group of U.S. customers on its app and mobile website and plans to make it available throughout the country. Amazon said Interests uses large language models to automatically turn the prompts into questions traditional search engines can process. Separately, Amazon is also testing a chatbot called "Health AI" on the company's website, a spokesperson said. The assistant will provide health information and guidance to help customers "easily discover and navigate products and solutions that address health care needs and find access to appropriate care," the spokesperson said. Amazon shares edged lower in morning trading. They have gained around 14% in the past 12 months through Tuesday.

Amazon Launches 'Interests' AI shopping tool, Reportedly Testing Health Chatbot

CNBC reported that Amazon is also testing a chatbot focused on health and wellness. Amazon (AMZN) is testing a new artificial intelligence (AI) shopping tool that finds new products matching a consumer's interests and is also reportedly testing a health-focused chatbot. The shopping feature, called Interests, allows consumers to create personalized shopping prompts "using everyday language," according to the company's webpage. Once a consumer puts in what they are looking for -- for instance, Amazon notes, "brewing tools and gadgets for coffee lovers," -- Interests will scan the online store and notify the person of the latest products. Amazon has made Interests available to a small group of U.S. customers on its app and mobile website and plans to make it available throughout the country. Amazon said Interests uses large language models (LLMs) to automatically turn the prompts into questions traditional search engines can process. Separately, CNBC reported that Amazon is testing a chatbot called "Health AI" on the company's website and mobile app. According to the report, the chatbot will suggest products, answer queries related to health and wellness and give "common care options" for health care issues. Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the healthbot trial. Amazon shares are little changed in premarket trading and have gained around 14% in the past 12 months through Tuesday.

AI Models and Tools: Amazon's New 'Interests' Tool for Shoppers; ChatGPT Gets Image Upgrade | PYMNTS.com

Consumers are used to product recommendations from eCommerce sites that are based on their history of purchases. Amazon is expanding this concept to suggest a shopper's next buy based on their passions. Called "Interests," this new tool will match shoppers with products and deals relevant to what they love to do. For example, avid golfers get a heads-up about the latest golf clubs, or book lovers will be notified about new novels from their favorite authors. Shoppers create prompts to tell the artificial intelligence (AI) what they're interested in and the assistant will be on the prowl looking for products and deals to suggest. Consumers can set price limits and preferences in natural language. The feature is rolling out to U.S. customers in iOS and Android apps and the mobile website. Find Interests under the "Me" tab in the Amazon app. The Interests feature uses large language models that can understand what shoppers are looking for. As an example, a consumer looking for top cosmetic brands will get product recommendations featuring the largest makeup manufacturers based on a web search by AI. Amazon already uses generative AI in Rufus, its shopping chatbot, AI Shopping Guides, which proactively consolidates product features relevant to make a buying decision, and review highlights. Damian Rollison, senior director of market insights at marketing platform SOCi, told PYMNTS that Amazon's Interests feature is a step toward re-creating the in-store browsing experience and finding items serendipitously. He called this type of specialized AI, a "trend to watch." Anthropic said Claude will also provide direct links to sources so users can fact-check. The results will be in a conversational format, just like ones already offered by other AI chatbots. However, internet access is only available for paying subscribers of Claude's subscription plan in the U.S. For users of its free plan and for overseas users, online search is "coming soon." Anthropic is backed by Amazon and Google, among other investors. The startup said GPT-4o does a better job of rendering photorealistic images, rather than the cartoonlike images that have characterized DALL-E generations -- a dead giveaway that they were made by generative AI. GPT-4o also mitigates a persistent problem of image generators: the inability to spell correctly. According to OpenAI, GPT-4o "excels at accurately rendering text" and follows prompts precisely. GPT-4o can also transform uploaded images or use them as a basis for inspiration and can generate up to 10 to 20 different objects, compared to five to eight that is typical for image generators. These capabilities ensure users get exactly the image they want, according to OpenAI.