Amazon began inviting a small group of US customers on November 6, 2026 to shop with Alexa for Shopping, the assistant it formed in May by merging Rufus and Alexa+, by text message. Invited customers accept terms, link a phone number and message a contact named "Alexa Shopping" that searches, compares products, builds carts, completes purchases and sends delivery updates, according to Amazon. The company said the option will reach millions more customers in the coming weeks but gave no size for the first group, did not name the messaging technology and did not say whether advertising will appear in the conversations.
Rajiv Mehta, Amazon's vice president of Conversational Shopping, said customers already jot down what they need in notes and messages, and that the shopping agent is now "just a text away." Amazon says requests started by text will carry over to the app, Amazon.com and Alexa devices, and that the thread will later include order updates, delivery notifications and deals. Uninvited customers can join a waitlist that, PPC Land reports, also signs them up for Amazon's marketing texts. The assistant can surface products from outside stores through Shop Direct.
Amazon said users of the assistant's agentic features have grown more than eightfold since the start of the year, without giving a starting count. CEO Andy Jassy said on October 29 that more than 400 million customers used Alexa for Shopping in 12 months and that US users spend 50% more per order. PPC Land notes the announcement is inconsistent on when purchases need customer approval and does not explain how approval works in a text thread.
The move follows Amazon cutting off Meta's Muse agent from buying on Amazon.com in September, and Jassy saying Amazon expects Alexa for Shopping to be the primary agent customers use to shop Amazon. Walmart, by contrast, has published rules letting outside agents buy within customer-set limits.