Amazon debuts ‘Rufus,’ an AI shopping assistant in its mobile app

Amazon has introduced a new AI-powered shopping assistant named Rufus, which will initially launch in beta for a subset of U.S. customers before expanding further.

Rufus is designed to help customers with various shopping tasks, such as finding products, comparing options, and receiving recommendations, all through chat within the Amazon mobile app.

The AI assistant has been trained on Amazon's product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&As, and web information, providing answers to shopping-related questions and assisting customers throughout their shopping journey.

Using Rufus, customers can inquire about a wide range of products, receive advice on purchases like running shoes or headphones, and even seek recommendations for specific occasions like Valentine's Day gifts or children's toys.

The beta version of Rufus will be accessible within the Amazon mobile app, where customers can interact with the AI through text or voice input.

Amazon emphasizes that Rufus will continuously improve over time, with customers encouraged to provide feedback on the accuracy and helpfulness of its responses.

While Rufus won't include advertising at launch, additional features may be added in the future to enhance the shopping experience for customers.

The rollout of Rufus to more U.S. customers is expected in the "coming weeks," as Amazon aims to refine its generative AI initiatives.