tech
Amazon Sells Its AI Shopping Tech to Retailers Via AWS
AWS has launched the Agentic Shopping Assistant, packaging the technology behind Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping into a solution other retailers can deploy in roughly 60 days. Kate Spade is the first customer, with an AI Gift Concierge running on Anthropic’s Haiku 4.5 through Amazon Bedrock.
TL;DR
- AWS launched the Agentic Shopping Assistant (ASA) to let retailers build their own AI-powered shopping assistants.
- The solution uses the same technology as Amazon's Alexa for Shopping and can be deployed in approximately 60 days.
- Kate Spade, owned by Tapestry, is the first retailer to launch an AI Gift Concierge using this technology.
- The AI Gift Concierge runs on Anthropic's Haiku 4.5 model through Amazon Bedrock and AgentCore.
- AWS positions ASA as a way for retailers to own the customer relationship and avoid dependence on general-purpose AI platforms.
- The 60-day deployment timeline is aggressive but achievable due to the managed nature of the solution and AWS's support.
- The ASA functions as both a product and a customer acquisition tool for the broader AWS ecosystem, driving revenue through AWS infrastructure usage.
- Amazon's direct competition with retailers using its own AI shopping tools presents a potential trust issue.
- The urgency for retailers to build their own AI shopping presence is driven by the competitive threat from AI intermediaries like ChatGPT and Google's Universal Cart.