Amazon launches Rufus, a generative AI shopping assistant inside Amazon app

Amazon has launched Rufus, a generative AI-powered shopping assistant, in the Amazon app. According to Amazon, it has trained Rufus on “Amazon’s product catalog and information from across the web to answer customer questions on shopping needs, products, and comparisons, make recommendations based on this context, and facilitate product discovery in the same Amazon shopping experience customers use regularly.”

How to use Amazon Rufus?

Rufus will appear as a search bar at the bottom of the screen. You can ask the assistant all kinds of questions related to shopping (and products) on the platform. For example, you could ask “What are the differences between trail and road running shoes?” Or you can be more specific and ask “Are these durable?” Rufus will then search the web and go through customer reviews of the product on the platform to give you the answers you need.

Currently, Amazon is rolling out Rufus in beta to a small set of customers in the United States, and it will make the shopping assistant available to everyone in the coming weeks.

In the press release, Amazon says “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. Customers are encouraged to leave feedback by rating their answers with a thumbs up or thumbs down, and they have the option to provide freeform feedback as well.”