Amazon has been aware that users of its Echo smart speakers haven’t widely adopted its voice assistant, Alexa, for making purchases, contrary to initial expectations. However, the tech giant is still pursuing this objective: its AI assistant, Alexa+, is now receiving new shopping functionalities in the U.S. and Canada, including a dedicated shopping hub, tools to add products to recent orders, and tailored recommendations.
The company has already introduced features aimed at transforming Alexa+ into a more robust shopping assistant, such as automated deal tracking and automatic purchases. The former allows you to configure Alexa to notify you when items in your cart or list fall below a specific price. If automatic purchases are also enabled, Alexa can instantly order an item once it reaches that target price.
Now, Amazon states it is converting its screen-equipped Echo devices, specifically the Echo Show 15 and 21, into a shopping hub through an interface dubbed the “Shopping Essentials” experience. From this centralized dashboard, Amazon customers can monitor deliveries in real time, access information about recent orders, receive reminders for essential household items needing reorder, and view their shopping list and saved products.
The screen will also enable shoppers to tap to explore more products, add items directly to their cart, and proceed to checkout.
To engage with this new experience, Amazon users can utter commands such as “Alexa, where’s my stuff?” or “Open Shopping Essentials.” A shopping widget will also soon be available for addition to the Echo device’s home screen.
Another new feature being rolled out now will permit Alexa device owners to add items to an upcoming delivery at any point before the item departs the warehouse. This expands upon a similar functionality recently introduced to Amazon’s retail website and app, making it not exclusive to Alexa+ but a novel addition for Alexa devices.
Alexa+ is also gaining the capability to suggest gifts. Users will be able to describe the recipient or the occasion, and Alexa+ will present categorized product suggestions on the screen.
Amazon reports that Alexa+ is currently accessible to “tens of millions” of customers, with these new features now active for users in the U.S. and Canada. While some users have expressed dissatisfaction with Alexa+, the company indicates that the percentage of users who reverted to the AI-free interface remains in the “very low single digits.”