Amazon AI on Prime Day: Deal Helper or Upsell Machine?
Amazon’s Rufus chatbot, Alexa voice deals and Amazon Lens can change how you shop on Prime Day. Here’s how to use them wisely — and avoid being upsold.
Amazon Prime Big Deals Days return on October 7 and 8, offering discounts of up to 40% on some of the retailer’s most popular products.
Prime Day, which kicks off the holiday shopping season, gives members an early chance to check items off their shopping lists and snag limited-time bargains.
Finding the best deals on the items you want and need can be a challenge with these massive shopping events, but AI tools such as Amazon Rufus and Amazon Lens can help you shop wisely during Big Deals Days.
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Be careful, though — while these tools can be helpful, you’ll need to resist the urge to buy items you hadn’t planned to purchase.
Amazon Rufus
Amazon Rufus, an AI chatbot, launched in early 2024. Rufus is a free tool that’s available to all shoppers. Think of Rufus as being your personal shopping assistant. You can ask the chatbot such questions as, “What supplies do I need for a Halloween party?” or “What are the best deals on women’s sneakers?”
The more specific you get, the more refined the bot’s responses will be, and within a few seconds, Rufus can provide suggestions, including links to Amazon products that best fit your shopping needs.
During Amazon Prime Day, Rufus could help you to quickly sort through deals, rather than scrolling through pages and pages of offers. Get specific with your questions to find the best deals on the products you need.
For example, after asking “What are the lowest-priced kitchen knives on sale now?” Rufus produced a list containing ultra-budget options under $10, best value individual knives and best value knife sets.
Rufus is helpful because it provides personalized responses. According to Forbes, testing indicates that the bot’s responses vary between users, suggesting that Rufus tailors its recommendations based on each customer’s spending thresholds and shopping history. That approach means that you’re more likely to see results that are relevant and that you’re likely to purchase.
Be careful when it comes to customer feedback, though. While you can ask Rufus a question such as, “How easy is this air fryer to clean?” its responses are based on data such as product listing details and customer reviews. Trusting those responses can be risky, given Amazon’s issues with fake reviews.
If Rufus points you toward a product that sounds like a good fit, do your own research. Google the product, look at reviews across multiple sites, and watch out for reviews that seem over the top in their praise or criticism. Look at the profiles of the reviewers, too, and try to find “verified purchase” badges, which generally indicate the reviews are more trustworthy.
You can use Rufus through Amazon’s app, or you can open the chatbot on your computer by clicking on the icon in the upper left corner of the Amazon homepage.
Alexa Voice
Alexa Voice can help with your shopping, too. You can speak to our Alexa-enabled devices, adding items to your shopping list as you think of them. You can also ask Alexa about the best deals on certain items on Amazon, and the AI voice service can make purchase recommendations based on your buying habits.
Amazon has also released Alexa+, the retailer’s next-generation AI assistant. Alexa+ offers a more personalized and conversational experience, and is capable of understanding complex requests. Alexa+ also integrates with other shopping platforms, so it can help you find Christmas gifts, book tickets through Ticketmaster and plan a night out in a certain city.
Alexa+ is available on a limited basis during the Early Access period. Customers who own an Echo Show 8, 10, 15 or 21 will be the first to access Alexa+, and more Echo customers will gradually receive access. You can sign up to be notified about Early Access availability. Alexa+ will be free to Amazon Prime members, while non-Prime customers can subscribe for $19.99 per month.
Amazon Lens
If you use the Amazon Shopping app, you can access Amazon Lens, an AI-powered visual search tool. With Amazon Lens, you can take a picture of a product and upload that image or scan a barcode. Amazon Lens can then find that product on Amazon, saving you some searching time and streamlining your shopping experience.
Amazon Lens Live, released in September, instantly scans products and shows you real-time matches in a carousel, so it’s even easier to find the product you need. It also integrates with Rufus, so you can get product insights and summaries right in the app.
You can add items to your cart by tapping the heart icon. If a friend has a product you love or if you want to do some comparison shopping while you’re in a retail store, Amazon Lens Live can make that process easy.
Tips to keep your shopping focused
AI tools can help you discover products quickly, but they also make it easy to get upsold into buying things on impulse. To stay disciplined, create a shopping list ahead of time and stick to it, and set a budget to avoid overspending during Prime Big Deals Days.
Even if a deal looks great on Amazon, take the time to comparison shop. Retailers such as Walmart and Target often run competing sales during these events, and you might find the same item for less elsewhere.
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