Amazon's AI Shopping Assistant Rufus: Beyond Product Recommendations

Amazon AI Shopping Assistant Rufus Answers Non-Shopping Questions Too

Just in time for Amazon's Prime Day deals blowout, the company announced that its AI-powered shopping assistant Rufus is now available to all U.S. customers. "Rufus is designed to help customers save time and make more informed purchase decisions by answering questions on a variety of shopping needs and products right in the Amazon Shopping app," Amazon said in a Friday blog post alerting the public to the chatbot's broad availability. "It's like having a shopping assistant with you any time you're in our store." Amazon first revealed Rufus in February, but only made it accessible to a limited number of users in the app until now. Customers have already asked Rufus tens of millions of questions, according to Amazon, and they'll likely ask a cascade more as Prime Day shopping madness approaches on July 16 and 17. Rufus is trained on Amazon's extensive product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As and information from across the web, and it's omniscient when it comes to shopping. You can ask for details of a product (is this shirt machine-washable?) or what fellow customers are saying about it. You can also ask the chatbot for specific merchandise recommendations and category comparisons: "Compare OLED and QLED TVs" or "compare trail shoes and running shoes." It can tell you when your order's arriving and when you last ordered your favorite sunscreen. In a surprising twist for a shopping chatbot, Rufus can also answer general queries, from the political to the philosophical. A chatbot that can tell me which mop to buy, link to that mop and answer my existential questions? I had to try it out. (Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on why it trained Rufus with such wide capabilities.) I fired up my Amazing Shopping app and tapped the little orange and teal icon in the bottom right corner that signifies that Rufus is ready to interact. Anyone who's conversed with a customer service chatbot knows the drill: Pose a question via typing or voice dictation (I typed), and get an answer. First, I asked Rufus which product is best for cleaning hardwood floors, and I instantly got guidelines for what to keep in mind ("look for pH-neutral cleaners that won't strip the floor's finish"). Rufus also returned five specific floor-cleaning products, with links to Amazon shopping pages, of course. Rufus even suggested additional questions I might want to ask, like "How often should hardwood floors be cleaned?" I could have gotten similar answers through Google or ChatGPT, and I did when I input the same questions into both. But for shoppers prone to making purchases on Amazon, Rufus streamlines the research-to-purchase trajectory by keeping the whole exercise in one ecosystem. I'd read that Rufus can answer non-shopping questions too, so once I'd settled any hardwood floor confusion I decided to see whether Amazon's AI-powered helper could assist in matters weightier than mops, like the meaning of life. Rufus acknowledged that I'd asked a question that has been contemplated by philosophers, theologians and thinkers throughout history. It then broke down the elements commonly thought to contribute to a life of meaning: finding fulfillment, being part of something greater, living ethically. It suggested additional questions I could click on too, such as "How can one research reputable charities effectively?"). As my new chatbot friend and I detoured into territory beyond housecleaning, I was relieved Rufus refrained from injecting recommendations based on my shopping history. A link to shower curtain rods as part of a conversation about the purpose of life would have felt awkward. When I slightly rephrased my question, however, asking for products that could make life meaningful, Rufus offered search links to spiritual books, mindfulness and meditation offerings, merchandise whose proceeds go to charity and gratitude journals. I was grateful it stayed on topic and didn't veer off into eye cream or shoes. It's still early days for Rufus, though hopefully it will maintain that sense of decorum. Amazon says it will continue to improve Rufus with customer input, so I'll be back to check on its evolution as an AI philosopher.

Amazon's In-App Rufus AI Will (Try to) Answer Your Shopping Questions

Rufus can serve up product recommendations, comparisons, user reviews, and more, though Amazon acknowledges that 'the technology won't always get it exactly right.' Just days before Prime Day, Amazon is making its AI shopping assistant, Rufus, available to all customers in the US. The generative AI-powered chatbot, which has been in beta testing since February, is designed to "help customers save time and make more informed purchase decisions," says Amazon. Shoppers can now access Rufus by updating their Amazon Shopping app and tapping the Rufus icon at the bottom right. In the chat box that appears, customers can ask Rufus a wide range of questions, from the material of a product they've picked to what other customers are saying about it. Shoppers can also seek product recommendations by asking questions like "What are the best wireless outdoor speakers?" or "Should I get trail shoes or running shoes?" The AI assistant was trained on Amazon's product catalog and information from across the web, the company says in a blog post. The idea is to have Rufus function as a shopping assistant. However, TechCrunch notes that it doesn't always get its facts right, and limiting it to Amazon's catalog could compromise the quality of recommendations. In its blog post, Amazon acknowledges that "it's still early days for generative AI, and the technology won't always get it exactly right. We will keep improving our AI models and fine-tune responses to continuously make Rufus more helpful over time." Users can rate Rufus' answers with a thumbs up or thumbs down.

Level up your shopping game with Rufus, Amazon's AI assistant

Think Amazon Alexa is impressive? Well, wait till you try Rufus! Amazon unveiled its AI-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, earlier this year. So far, Rufus has been available in beta to a small set of Amazon's customers. However, in a recent post, the retailer announced that the shopping assistant is now available to all US customers within the Amazon Shopping app. The shopping assistant is designed to answer product-specific questions, help with recommendations, and compare items. Customers can also use Rufus to get quick access to their order history as well as keep track of product updates. These are just some of Rufus' many capabilities, given that the shopping assistant has been trained on Amazon's product catalog, community Q&As and reviews, and public information from other websites in an effort to help the AI tool make better recommendations.

Amazon's AI chatbot Rufus is now live for all US customers

There's another chatbot in town. Amazon's AI chatbot Rufus is now live for all US customers, albeit in a beta version. This follows a testing phase that began back in February. Rufus looks to currently be tied to the app and not the web version of Amazon. So what does it do? It's an Amazon chatbot so it helps with shopping. You can ask for lists of recommended products and ask what specific products do and stuff like that. I've tooled around with it a bit this morning and it seems fine, though a bit boring. I will say that I cross-referenced some of the recommended products with the web version and Rufus does not automatically list promoted items, at least for now. It spit out a seemingly random list of well-reviewed products on several occasions. That's fine by me, though I'm not about to buy something based on the word of a one-day old chatbot. You can also ask specific questions about products, but the answers seem to be pulled directly from the descriptions. As any regular Amazon customer knows, some of these descriptions are accurate and others aren't. The chatbot is tied to your personal account, so it can answer questions about upcoming deliveries and the like. Amazon says that the bot has been trained on its product catalog, along with customer reviews, community Q&As and public information found throughout the web. However, it hasn't disclosed what websites it pulled that public information from and to what end. It didn't even confirm that these were retail-adjacent websites. If you want to try it out, update to the latest version of the app and look for the colorful icon on the bottom-right. Maybe, if we all work hard enough at asking ridiculous questions, we can break it just in time for Amazon Prime Day.

Amazon launches AI shopping assistant -- just in time for Prime Day

After months of testing, Amazon is releasing its generative artificial intelligence-powered shopping assistant, Rufus, to all U.S. customers today. The conversational shopping assistant "is designed to help customers save time and make more informed purchase decisions," Amazon said. Rufus is available in the Amazon shopping app in time for Prime Day, which runs between July 16 and 17. Rufus, which Amazon announced in January, can answer specific questions about products, such as whether a product is easy to maintain and what material it's made of, the company said. The AI-powered assistant can also give product recommendations and comparisons, and provide product updates. Customers can also track packages with Rufus, and check past orders. Rufus can even help customers with questions unrelated to shopping, such as what they would need for a soufflé or summer party, Amazon said. Amazon, which is the largest cloud provider, has launched its own AI training and inferencing chips and a platform called Bedrock for developers to build generative AI applications on its Amazon Web Services cloud service. However, the tech giant hasn't focused as much on developing AI products the way its competitors such as Google and Microsoft have. Last month, it was reported Amazon is working on an AI chatbot, internally called "Metis," to rival OpenAI's ChatGPT. The chatbot will be accessible through a web browser and will be powered by one of the company's internal AI models, Olympus, Business Insider reported, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter and an internal document. Olympus is reportedly more powerful than Amazon's publicly available AI model, Titan. In March, Amazon completed its $4 billion investment in AI startup Anthropic -- its largest in an outside company ever. Anthropic uses AWS as its primary cloud provider, and Amazon said the startup would use its AI chips "to build, train, and deploy its future models."

Amazon Expands AI Shopping Assistant Rufus to All US Customers As Prime Day Approaches - Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Rufus helps with product details, recommendations, and comparisons. Amazon.Com Inc AMZN has made Rufus, its AI-powered shopping assistant, available to all U.S. customers in the Amazon Shopping app. Rufus aims to help users save time and make informed purchase decisions by answering shopping-related questions directly within the app. The availability coincides with Amazon's Prime Day 2024 on July 16-17, which will likely accomplish $12.4 billion GMV, up by 12% year-on-year, and $7.9 billion retail sales, an increase of 11% year-on-year. Since its introduction, Rufus has assisted customers by providing product details, recommendations, and comparisons. Also Read: Amazon's New AI Assistant Rufus Sparks Debate - Will It Impact Advertising Revenue? It draws on product listing details, customer reviews, and community Q&As. Rufus helps customers understand product details by sharing information from product listings, reviews, and community Q&As. Users can ask specific questions and receive detailed answers. Rufus surfaces products with relevant features based on user queries. Customers use Rufus to compare different products by asking questions. Rufus also assists with order tracking and history. Rufus can respond to various inquiries, not just shopping. Earlier in 2024, Amazon launched an AI tool in the mobile app to respond to customer queries about products. Price Action: AMZN was up 0.30% to $195.63 at the last check on Friday. Also Read: Amazon's Leap Into AI Future: How Generative Tech Could Transform Your Shopping Journey Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Amazon's AI chatbot Rufus launched in this country: Here's what all it can do - Times of India

Amazon is rolling out its AI-powered shopping chatbot Rufus to all mobile users in the US. The company says that Rufus is designed to enhance the customer experience by providing guidance on product comparisons, answering questions about items and summarising customer reviews. As per Amazon, the chatbot can also answer questions about orders as it is trained on Amazon's vast product catalogue, customer reviews and web data.Customers can ask questions about specific products or entire categories, and receive personalised recommendations within the app. Things that Amazon's Rufus AI chatbot can do Understanding product listings: Customers can leverage Rufus' understanding of product listings, reviews, and community Q&A to ask detailed questions. For example, "Is this coffee maker easy to clean?" or "Is this mascara a clean beauty product?" Rufus also surfaces relevant questions within the chat window. Personalised recommendations: Customers can get personalised recommendations based on their needs. For instance, a user seeking a pool umbrella suitable for Florida's climate can ask Rufus to consider factors like weather and humidity. Making comparisons: This is probably one of the most useful features. Customers can compare product features with Rufus, such as "gas vs wood fired pizza ovens?" or "differences between OLED and QLED TVs." People can also ask Rufus to provide options for "most advanced Fire tablet for kids?" or "current denim trends for women?". Order management: Amazon says that Rufus can also streamline order tracking by allowing users to ask about specific deliveries. The users in the US can update their apps and tap the Rufus icon (chat bubbles with sparkle) in the navigation bar to access the chatbot. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.

Amazon releases hound as AI-powered shopping assistant goes live across US

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has released its generative artificial intelligence-powered shopping assistant dubbed Rufus to all U.S. consumers using the Amazon Shopping app, the company announced Friday. Rufus assists customers through all phases of their shopping experience as it has incorporated an understanding of product details and customer reviews. It can be accessed through the Rufus icon at the bottom of the Shopping App screen. First introduced in February in beta to a small subset of customers, it is now available throughout the US, after the company received positive feedback from users. Rufus can provide shopping recommendations, compare options, provide product updates, identify trends, access order history and answer questions not even related to shopping. Rufus is named after a Welsh corgi who roamed the boardrooms and warehouse of Amazon's Seattle campus back in 1996. He died in 2009. Other companies have also released AI shopping assistants recently, such as Etsy's (ETSY) Gift Mode, eBay's (EBAY) Magical Listings and Instacart's (CART) Ask Instacart. More on Amazon Amazon: An Unstoppable Growth Stock To Buy Right Now Amazon: Swimming In Catalysts Amazon: The Gift That Keeps On Giving Amazon's Bezos sells another $452.7M worth of stock Nvidia leads slide as investors rotate out of mega tech