Amazon on 2026-11-06 began rolling out texting with its Alexa for Shopping agent, starting with a small group of U.S. customers by invitation only (Amazon). The company announced that the option will expand to more customers over the coming weeks (Amazon). Selected customers receive a text message asking them to enable the feature (TechCrunch).
Key Facts
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Feature | Text requests to Alexa for Shopping | Amazon |
| Availability | Invitation only, small group of U.S. customers | Amazon |
| Contact name | Appears as “Alexa Shopping” | Amazon |
| Expansion | More customers over the coming weeks | Amazon |
| Waitlist | Customers without an invitation can sign up to a waitlist | TechCrunch |
Timeline
- 2026-11-04: Amazon launched the Shop Direct Merchant Workspace, a self-service portal for merchants to connect their stores to Alexa for Shopping and Amazon (Amazon).
- 2026-11-06: Amazon began rolling out texting with Alexa for Shopping to a small group of U.S. customers (Amazon).
Details (as Reported)
Amazon describes Alexa for Shopping as an agent that takes action on customers’ behalf, including ordering weekly groceries, adding recipe ingredients to a cart, looking for deals and texting when an item hits a target price (Amazon). To start, customers accept the terms, link a phone number and begin shopping from their text messages (Amazon).
According to Amazon, a text can ask the agent to compare products, check up to a full year of price history, track price drops, manage lists and report on order status (Amazon). Customers can also send a photo to find similar products, and the agent can surface options from other stores through Shop Direct (Amazon). Amazon is rolling out the ability for a request begun by text to carry over to the Amazon Shopping app, Amazon.com and Alexa-enabled devices, and the reverse (Amazon).
Engadget reports that the agent messages back with suggestions and can add approved items to a cart before completing the order (Engadget). Amazon states that more than 400 million customers have used Alexa for Shopping in the last 12 months (Amazon).
Amazon’s shopping page states that texting requires a personal Amazon account with a verified mobile number and a phone with RCS chats turned on (Amazon). It lists most Android phones with Google Messages and iPhones on iOS 18 or later as supporting RCS chats, provided the carrier does too (Amazon).
TechCrunch reports that the launch follows Amazon’s block of Meta’s Muse from querying its site in September, and comes just before the start of the holiday shopping season (TechCrunch). The outlet adds that DoorDash last month reported third-party agents had placed only hundreds of orders in total on its platform (TechCrunch).