Amazon's new AI agent can shop third-party websites for you
What's the story
Amazon has started to test a new artificial intelligence (AI) shopping assistant called "Buy for Me."
The feature, which is currently in the testing phase, aims to make online shopping more convenient by offering users product options from other websites when an item isn't available on Amazon.
The innovative feature was unveiled in a recent blog post by the company.
Functionality
How does 'Buy for Me' work?
The "Buy for Me" feature lets you browse and select products from other websites, all without leaving the Amazon Shopping app.
Once you select a product, the AI shopping assistant will go to an external site to make the purchase.
It fills in necessary details like name, shipping address, and payment information on your behalf.
Technology
AI models behind 'Buy for me'
The "Buy for Me" feature is powered by Amazon's Nova AI models and Anthropic's Claude.
One of these models, Nova Act, was unveiled earlier this week as an autonomous web browsing AI agent.
This cutting-edge tech powers the capabilities of Amazon's new shopping assistant, allowing it to seamlessly browse external websites and make purchases on behalf of users.
Security measures
User information security and privacy
Amazon has added encryption to the "Buy for Me" feature to securely add billing information on third-party sites, so Amazon cannot see what you're ordering from outside its platform.
This is different from what OpenAI and Google are doing, where users have to enter credit card information themselves, and Perplexity's AI agent that uses a prepaid debit card to make purchases.