Amazon CEO Andy Jassy recently claimed that the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) based shopping assistant, Rufus, will generate an additional $10 billion in annualised sales. Jassy shared the projection during Amazon’s third-quarter earnings call last week, highlighting the chatbot as one of the company’s key bets on consumer-facing AI. At the earnings call, Jassy said: “Rufus is expected to generate over $10 billion in annual incremental sales for us.” Jassy disclosed new metrics demonstrating the tool’s influence on customer behaviour, noting that 250 million shoppers have used Rufus this year. Monthly active users have grown 140% year-over-year, while interactions have increased 210%. A significant finding shared by Amazon is that customers who engage with Rufus during their shopping journey are 60% more likely to complete a purchase compared to non-users. So let’s check what the Rufus chatbot is in the Amazon app and how it works:

Amazon’s Rufus AI shopping chatbot: What it is and how it works

In August, Amazon launched the Rufus AI shopping chatbot in India for all customers using the Amazon Shopping app and the desktop version. Rufus is designed as a shopping assistant to help users find products, compare options, and get quick answers to shopping-related questions. It is trained on Amazon’s product catalogue and web data to provide relevant and helpful responses. Here’s how it looks on the app:

Customers can use Rufus for various purposes, such as learning what to consider before buying a product, finding gift or occasion ideas, comparing features between items, or checking details about specific products directly on their pages. For example, users can ask questions like “what to look for when buying headphones?” or “which is better, OLED or LED TV?” Rufus also helps explore new trends and product categories by suggesting related searches.To use Rufus, customers need the updated version of the Amazon Shopping app. In the Amazo app, tap the Rufus icon (chat bubbles with a sparkle) at the bottom of the screen, or use the icon in the desktop version. The chatbot gives answers based on information from Amazon and the web. Amazon notes that the feature is still improving and encourages users to share feedback to help refine future responses.Amazon has been using AI for many years across areas such as product recommendations, warehouse management, and Alexa’s voice features. Recently, the company added new AI tools, such as review highlights and AI-assisted product listings, to make shopping more convenient. Rufus builds on these features to improve how customers search, learn, and shop on Amazon.