The new Amazon artificial intelligence agent will make purchases on third-party sites for you.

Amazon has begun testing a new AI-powered shopping assistant called “Buy for Me,” which will initially be available to a small group of users, according to an announcement on the company’s official blog. This new service will allow users to see options for products available on other websites if Amazon does not have the product they are looking for. This way, users can select and request the purchase of one of these items without leaving the Amazon shopping app.

The implementation of "Buy for Me" places Amazon among companies that are developing AI shopping agents, similar to initiatives by OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity, which have introduced assistants that can visit web pages and assist consumers with their purchases. While Amazon is already the preferred platform for many for online shopping, this new feature could allow the company to increase its share in e-commerce.

Behind this assistant, Amazon will utilize its AI technology from the Amazon Nova models, along with Claude from Anthropic. One of these models could be Nova Act, a recently introduced AI agent capable of autonomously navigating websites. According to the information provided by Amazon, "Buy for Me" employs an encryption system to securely input billing information on external sites, ensuring that the company does not have access to what users are purchasing outside of its platform. This contrasts with other solutions created by OpenAI and Google, which require users to manually enter their credit card information, or Perplexity's system, which uses a prepaid debit card for purchases.

However, providing credit card information to an AI, which may make mistakes or misinterpret information, could raise concerns among some users. Past experiences indicate that AI shopping agents can face delays in processing requests and even get stuck in the process. Essentially, Amazon is asking users to trust that its assistant will not make significant errors, such as buying 1,000 pairs of socks instead of 10. Additionally, the service will also mean that customers will have less control over their shopping experience. If they need to return or exchange an order, "Buy for Me" will direct them to the digital store where the assistant made the purchase.

User reactions and their willingness to try this new system will be revealed soon.