Amazon unveils new generative AI shopping assistant

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Amazon has unveiled a new generative artificial intelligence (AI)-powered conversational shopping experience, called Rufus.

"Rufus is an expert shopping assistant trained on Amazon’s product catalog and information from across the internet," the US-based global e-commerce firm said Thursday in a statement.

It can answer customers' questions on shopping needs, products, make comparisons and recommendations based on context, and facilitate product discovery.

In addition, customers can learn what to look for while shopping product categories, shop by occasion or purpose based on activity and event, get help comparing product categories, find the best recommendations, and ask questions about a specific product while on a product detail page.

Rufus was launched Thursday in beta version to a small number of customers in Amazon’s mobile app, while it will roll out to additional American customers in the coming weeks.