The e-commerce giant is taking another big leap with advanced voice-based AI as it looks to usher in a new era of agentic commerce for brands and creators.
Amazon’s latest move is the launch of an improved AI shopping assistant dubbed “Alexa+” as it aims to make voice the dominant interface for agentic commerce.
But what is agentic commerce and why is it so important for creators and influencers?
Agentic Commerce Explained
Agentic commerce is defined as a new technology in which AI can autonomously perform actions such as finding, comparing, tracking, recommending, and buying products online. Instead of using search engines to find relevant offers, customers would interact with the AI agent via voice chat.
Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy recently stated that AI shopping agents might very well become the main point of access between customers and retailers.
For creators, this development may significantly change the way their products get discovered and promoted to potential buyers.
Alexa+ to Be Amazon’s New AI Shopping Agent
In order to enable an improved agentic commerce experience, Amazon is updating its previous Rufus AI shopping assistant with “Alexa for Shopping” functionality that works across Amazon apps, websites, and Echo smart speakers.
This means that users will be able to:
- Ask questions about products
- Get recommendations from the AI shopping assistant
- Compare products with the help of AI summaries
- Set up price alerts
- Order products automatically
- Make purchases via voice commands
Users would also enjoy a continuity experience, meaning that they can start the shopping interaction with Alexa on one device and continue it on another.
Such improvements could greatly affect the landscape of affiliate marketing and product discovery.
Opportunities and Risks For Creators & Influencers
It seems safe to assume that the emergence of agentic commerce and AI assistants may dramatically diminish the importance of search engines and online shopping sites as product discovery channels.
For content creators, it would mean that they would need to adapt accordingly in order to remain competitive.
Advantages for Creators
Creators and brands that create strong product authority have a great opportunity here because AI assistants may source their product recommendation algorithms from creators’ product review ecosystems.
Some of the opportunities for brands include:
- Voice Search Optimization
- Product Description Optimization for AI Chatbots
- Conversational Commerce Campaigns
- Product Integrations Into AI Shopping Experiences
Risks for Creators
On the other hand, the popularity of agentic commerce could make users less likely to visit specific websites, social media pages, or blogs for shopping.
Thus, creators may find themselves in trouble when trying to promote products through SEO strategies, affiliate marketing, and similar initiatives.
Amazon Seeks Control Over AI Shopping Experiences
According to analysts, Amazon is planning to gain control over AI shopping experiences before competing technologies become dominant. Some experts even predict that Amazon would try to take over the product discovery layer completely.
What sets Amazon apart is its huge database of products, reviews, and customers’ purchase history in addition to its hardware infrastructure. The company’s advantage is also its ability to create new functions, including Buy for Me features that would help AI assistants complete purchases from any eCommerce platform.
If everything goes according to Amazon’s plan, consumers may not have to manually browse online shops anymore in the future.
Future of AI Voice Commerce
Experts believe that agentic commerce and voice-based shopping assistants would soon become one of the biggest trends in AI-based retailing.
According to a forecast by Morgan Stanley, by 2030 some 45% of online consumers would use AI shopping agents, generating additional eCommerce revenue of over $115 billion.
At the same time, Mastercard already invests in security technologies designed to protect the user’s identity in case of voice-based transactions.
In other words, the rise of AI voice commerce would soon turn out to be a defining moment in retailing.
Conclusion
From Amazon’s latest move we can clearly see that AI voice commerce will be a reality in the near future.
For content creators and influencers, this development could mean a fundamental shift in their marketing strategies as more consumers may soon discover products via voice interactions with AI assistants.
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