Amazon sells AI shopping tech to retailers, starting with Kate Spade
▼ Summary
– AWS launched the Agentic Shopping Assistant, enabling retailers to create AI shopping assistants using the same technology powering Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping.
– The product includes architecture guidance, starter code, and support from AWS’s Generative AI Innovation Center.
– The solution can be deployed in a short timeframe.
– Kate Spade is the first retailer to use this new technology.
Amazon Web Services is now offering its AI-powered shopping technology to other retailers, starting with Kate Spade as the first customer. The new product, called the AWS Agentic Shopping Assistant, packages the same underlying technology that powers Amazon’s own Alexa for Shopping into a solution available to third-party merchants.
The offering includes architecture guidance, starter code, and direct support from AWS’s Generative AI Innovation Center. AWS says retailers can deploy the system relatively quickly, enabling customers to interact with a brand’s shopping assistant using natural language. The assistant can handle tasks like answering product questions, making personalized recommendations, and completing purchases.
This move marks a significant expansion of Amazon’s AI strategy. Instead of keeping its shopping AI exclusive to its own platform, the company is now licensing the technology to other retailers. That allows brands like Kate Spade to offer a sophisticated, conversational shopping experience without building the AI infrastructure from scratch.
By packaging its internal AI capabilities into a commercial product, AWS is positioning itself as a key player in the retail technology space. The Agentic Shopping Assistant is designed to help retailers improve customer engagement and conversion rates through more intuitive, voice-driven interactions. For Amazon, this also creates a new revenue stream beyond its core e-commerce and cloud computing businesses.
Kate Spade will be the first to roll out the assistant, but AWS expects other retailers to follow. The technology is built to be flexible, so each brand can customize the assistant’s personality, product knowledge, and shopping logic to match its own identity and customer base.
The launch underscores how rapidly generative AI is reshaping retail. As more companies look to deploy AI assistants that feel natural and responsive, Amazon is betting that its proven technology will give it an edge over competitors offering generic chatbot solutions.
(Source: The Next Web)
