I Tried Amazon’s Prime Day AI Assistant and Didn’t Like It

Just days before this year’s Prime Day sale, which takes place on July 16-7, Amazon has rolled out a new in-app chat feature for all U.S. customers to help them shop.

Named Rufus, the AI ​​assistant is trained on Amazon’s products, reviews, and Q&As, along with information from around the web. The goal is to answer questions about your shopping needs and Amazon’s products, and to make product comparisons — and, of course, to encourage you to spend money. But Rufus cautions, “My answers are powered by AI, so I can’t always get it right.”

It’s refreshing to hear that kind of warning right away. Generative AI software is already plagued by wrong answers and hallucinations. Google’s AI Overviews mishaps in search results a few weeks ago weren’t an isolated problem.

In the past 18 months, we’ve seen the arrival of multiple generative AI assistants, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, and Adobe’s Firefly. Despite their flaws, they’re capable of extraordinary tasks, from writing A-plus essays to creating never-before-seen images. But e-commerce is one category we haven’t seen as much activity, and I was curious to see how Amazon’s shopping-specific assistant fared.

I took Rufus for a test drive — including asking it for tips specific to Prime Day deals — and found an AI assistant that was happy to answer questions beyond just shopping. I also found that it was better at diving into details about specific products than answering broader questions, which is a little odd given the massive amount of data Amazon has on its 200 million Prime members in the US. Plus, its ease of use leaves something to be desired.

Getting Started with Amazon Rufus

First, you’ll need the Amazon app. To use Rufus, look for the orange and blue icon in the bottom right corner. Tap it to ask Rufus a question by typing or speaking your question out loud. Once you find products to buy, add them to your Amazon cart as usual.

Finding a beach read

I wanted to start easy, so I went for the product category that started it all: books. Given the season, I asked: What’s a good summer beach read?

As you can see in the image below, it seems that Rufus relies on keywords to do the heavy lifting. He suggested books like Beach Read, A Novel Summer, and The Summer Place.

I was curious to see how Rufus compares to Amazon and Alexa’s search functions, so I also asked them about beach reading material.

When I asked the same question on the spot, I got completely different recommendations than Rufus’s, including Every Summer After by Carley Fortune and Seabreeze Inn by Jan Moran.

And when I asked Alexa about it, she said, “There are no ‘summer beach’ books in your Audible library.”

Rufus’s answer is almost laughably keyword based, so I prefer Amazon’s website in this case.

I reached out to Amazon for more insight into how Rufus does his work.

Shopping for a Pet’s Birthday

I have a puppy who’s birthday is coming up soon, so I was wondering: what should I get for my dog’s first birthday?

Rufus said, “Celebrate your furry friend’s first birthday with special treats and toys! Look for durable chew toys, interactive puzzles, and delicious dog treats made with quality ingredients.”

The response was less obviously keyword-based, but still fairly general. It had links to product categories, but they only took me to basic Amazon search pages for those terms.

In comparison, the results on Amazon seemed to be more keyword-driven, offering a selection of first birthday bandanas and dog party kits with banners reading, “It’s my birthday, mommy!”

When I asked Alexa the same question, this was her response: “On your dog’s first birthday, it’s customary to give him a toy as a gift. This could be a stuffed animal, a ball, or any other object that dogs enjoy playing with.”

Alexa also provided some additional dog trivia, including average lifespan (in case I hadn’t already considered my dog’s mortality).

Winnie the Pooh Themed Shopping

My son recently discovered the Playdate with Winnie the Pooh series on Disney Plus and he absolutely loves it. So I asked Rufus: What are the best Winnie the Pooh products on Amazon?

The response, shown in part above, wasn’t terrible. But once you click on a suggested link, it’s hard to get back to the previous page — it’s as if Rufus wants you to go further down the rabbit hole.

When I asked the same question on the site and also asked Alexa the same question, I got a completely different assortment of Winnie the Pooh items, including several plush toys, a water bottle, a keychain, makeup, and a backpack. So each platform seems to have a different idea of ​​what “best” means.

Shop for Home Improvement Products

I recently completed a project around the house and since Rufus can reportedly make recommendations on the products you need for projects like home manicures, yoga, and gardening, I decided to ask a question I kind of already knew: What do I need to wallpaper a bathroom?

“When selecting wallpaper for a bathroom, prioritize moisture-resistant and washable materials such as vinyl or nonwoven fabrics. Look for high scrubbability ratings and mold/mildew resistance to withstand moisture,” Rufus said.

The first answer didn’t mention wallpaper paste, brushes, a ruler, or a box cutter, but it did suggest that my next question should be, “What tools do you need to install wallpaper?” And then came a better answer.

But again, if you click on those product listings, you’ll be redirected to a general Amazon search page. It’s hard to go back once you’ve clicked on the first product.

Alexa was also very helpful with product recommendations for a wallpaper project.

They both had better answers than the website, which offered a vinyl sticker that read “Bathroom” in cursive, along with several signs that read “You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone,” next to an image of an empty toilet paper roll.

Is Rufus ready for Prime Day?

I have bad news. I asked Rufus about the upcoming sale in several ways, but the AI ​​shopping assistant just didn’t know what to say, except for the basics.

First I asked: What are the best Prime Day deals for me?

As you can see above, Rufus gave me a generic non-answer about a wide variety of products being discounted. Oddly enough, when I asked this question on the site, Amazon only recommended clothing — including a tank top, linen pants, and a linen shirt — and while I’ve bought a lot of products from Amazon over the years, I’ve never bought clothing from them, except for socks for my son.

Alexa returned 10 results for deals, including two books — The Greatest Beer Run Ever and We Were the Lucky Ones — and a poster frame. I actually buy a lot of frames from Amazon, so that last one probably made sense.

Looking for Prime Day deals?

I tried to broaden the question a bit: What are the best Prime Day deals?

I got the same results as last time, from Rufus and Alexa. Amazon shook things up a bit with a toiletry bag, some storage bags — and those same linen pants.

I thought it might be too difficult to ask about Prime Day deals in general, given the size of it, so I asked more specifically: Do you have Prime Day deals on dog toys?

Sadly, all Rufus could say was:

“Prime Day is Amazon’s largest global shopping event, exclusively for Amazon Prime members, and takes place on July 16-17. Visit the Prime Day page for more information.”

Alexa and the website asked about some dog toys, but there was nothing tied to a specific Prime Day deal.

I’ll try again: are there also Winnie the Pooh offers on Prime Day?

But again, Rufus said, “Prime Day is Amazon’s biggest global shopping event…” Alexa and the website asked for a bunch of Winnie the Pooh products this time, but there was nothing tied to a specific Prime Day deal. And even if those deals aren’t available yet, these tools couldn’t tell me that.

Considering how much data Amazon has about us and our search and purchase behavior, I’m surprised there isn’t something a little more personalized for Prime Day. It’s like a giant garage sale, after all, with a dizzying array of product offerings. I know Amazon lists a few products for each of us on the homepage during the sale, but I think it would be nice if Rufus or Alexa could help us find the products I’m most interested in.

But maybe it’s like candy and magazines at the checkout: Amazon wants you to look around and expand your cart with the stuff you throw in along the way.

What makes Amazon Rufus stand out?

Amazon has a number of recommendations for using Rufus and where it’s most useful. Those include questions like: How do I prepare for Prime Day? When is Prime Day? Are Prime Day deals members-only?

One of the questions Rufus raised for me was: Which books are considered classics of literature?

Rufus mentioned To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, and 1984, which isn’t a bad list.

Then it was suggested to me that I ask what themes literary classics address, or what defines a book as a literary classic.

Rufus’ strength for now probably lies in the questions he proposes.

But Amazon says Rufus can tell you more about certain products, so I went back to the linen pants. Once on the product page, I asked:

Each answer asks for feedback. You can rate it with a thumbs up or thumbs down and then check the boxes, such as ‘This is incorrect’ or ‘This is not relevant’.

Amazon says this will help Rufus get better over time.

For now, I think Rufus is best if you have a specific product in mind, rather than asking this new AI assistant to sort through the millions of products for sale on the site. Maybe by next Prime Day, he’ll be able to answer more personalized questions.