Amazon offers its AI shopping tech to outside retailers in new phase of agentic commerce race
Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched its AI-powered Agentic Shopping Assistant, a tool built from the technology behind Alexa for Shopping, to help retailers create custom AI shopping experiences on their own e-commerce sites. The move marks Amazon’s latest push in the competitive AI commerce race, with early adoption by Kate Spade’s parent company, Tapestry, which deployed an AI gift concierge using Anthropic’s Haiku 4.5 model via Amazon Bedrock.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) introduced the Agentic Shopping Assistant, an AI tool designed to let retailers build personalized shopping assistants for their own online stores. The technology underpins the Alexa for Shopping assistant, which Amazon claims generated nearly $12 billion in additional sales last year. Retailers can deploy the assistant in about 60 days, tailoring it to their inventory and brand identity. The announcement comes as tech giants compete to dominate AI-driven commerce. Google is integrating shopping features into its AI search results and partnering with Shopify on an open commerce standard, while Microsoft has added AI checkout tools to Copilot and collaborated with brands like Ralph Lauren. OpenAI, after discontinuing its Instant Checkout feature, is now working with Shopify and Walmart to embed product recommendations in ChatGPT. Walmart also launched its own AI assistant, Sparky, which it integrated into ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. AWS’s offering allows retailers to maintain control over customer data, product catalogs, and business rules while leveraging Amazon’s e-commerce expertise. The company highlights that deployments are customized to each retailer’s brand, addressing potential concerns about data privacy. Kate Spade, owned by Tapestry, became an early adopter, using the tool to create an AI gift concierge in April. The concierge engages shoppers in conversations about occasions, recipients, and style preferences before suggesting products. Amazon built the system using Anthropic’s Haiku 4.5 model through Amazon Bedrock, following 2.5 months of testing. Analysts predict AI agents could drive over 30% of online commerce by 2030, representing $3.1 trillion in transactions, according to Accenture. AWS’s move reflects its strategy to expand beyond its retail operations by offering cloud-based AI solutions to competitors, though it requires retailers to trust Amazon with their shopping infrastructure.
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