Amazon Lets Customers Text Alexa AI Agent to Shop as Platforms Build Their Own Agents

Amazon has introduced a feature that lets customers chat with its Alexa AI agent over text message to shop, following a growing trend of text-based agents such as Muse and Instinct. The company announced the move on Friday, just ahead of the holiday shopping season and after blocking Meta’s Muse from querying its site in September.

Selected U.S. customers will receive a text inviting them to enable the feature, after which they can use natural language to search for items, add them to their cart and complete purchases. Building on recent shopping-focused upgrades to Alexa, the agent can manage lists, track prices, search across the web, compare products and check order status. Users can also send a photo of an item or outfit to find similar listings on Amazon.

Amazon said Alexa will learn users’ preferences over time and suggest items accordingly. Customers who are not invited can join a waitlist, with a broader rollout planned in the coming weeks.

The launch reflects how major platforms are building their own consumer AI agents rather than relying on third parties. DoorDash said last month that outside agents had placed only a few hundred orders on its platform, and that it would focus on expanding its own text-based agent introduced in September.