I asked Rufus from Amazon to help me with shopping. It’s not quite there yet

Just days before this year’s Prime Day sale, Amazon introduced a new app-only chat feature for all US customers to help them with their purchases.

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 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 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 it was at answering broader questions, which is a little odd considering the vast amount of data Amazon has on its 200 million Prime members in the US. Plus, the ease of use leaves something to be desired.

Getting Started with Amazon Rufus

First, you’ll need the Amazon app. Once you’ve downloaded it, 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’ve found 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 from the image, it seems that Rufus relies on keywords to do the heavy lifting. It 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 have contacted Amazon for more information on how Rufus does his job, but have not yet received a response.

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 show Playdate with Winnie the Pooh on Disney Plus and he is obsessedso 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 submitted the query to Alexa, 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.

Was Rufus ready for Prime Day 2024?

I asked Rufus about the annual sales promotion in several ways before the sale, but the AI ​​shopping assistant didn’t know what to say beyond the basic questions.

First I asked: What are the best Prime Day deals for me? Before the sale, Rufus told me to expect deals on a wide range of products, as you can see below.

After the sale started, Rufus improved a bit, but he still made general suggestions, like: What are the best Prime Day deals on electronics? Which Prime Day deals offer the biggest savings? And what Prime Day deals are there on appliances?

To be fair, Rufus does have a suggested search for Prime Day deals for you, but the results were still a very generic collection of products – at least for me.

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.

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?

Before the sale, Rufus could only say:

“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.”

However, during Prime Day, Rufus was able to point me to a number of discounted dog toys.

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

Unfortunately, Rufus said, “I can’t answer that question. I’m an AI technology created by Amazon to help you ask questions, get recommendations, and compare options as you shop.”

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 a pair of linen pants that Amazon recommended to me several times. You can see the answers to my questions in the picture.

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 Prime Day 2025, it can answer more personalized questions.