Amazon is expanding its AI offerings with the introduction of Amelia, a generative AI tool designed to assist third-party sellers.
The new too is designed to help in resolving account issues and retrieving sales and inventory data.
Announced on Thursday, Amelia is currently in beta for select U.S. sellers. It is expected to roll out more broadly later this year.
Amelia: The New AI Assistant for Sellers
Amazon describes Amelia as an “all-in-one, generative AI-based selling expert.” It will be available through Seller Central, the dashboard used by third-party merchants on the platform.
The new tool is part of Amazon’s ongoing strategy to harness the potential of generative AI, a space that has gained significant momentum following the rise of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Amelia is aimed at solving a common pain point for third-party sellers: the challenges of troubleshooting account issues such as suspensions or missing inventory.
Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of worldwide selling partner services, explained that the AI assistant is intended to simplify and accelerate the problem-solving process for sellers.
Mehta said:
“There are going to be places where instead of chatting with seller support or getting on the phone, maybe Amelia can handle the issue faster.”
For example, instead of filling out forms for missing inventory, a seller could ask Amelia to file a claim or potentially resolve the issue automatically.
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Enhancing Seller Experience with AI
Amazon’s foray into AI is not new. The company has been integrating AI-driven features across its platform. These included product review summaries, AI-generated listings, and personalized recommendations for shoppers.
Amelia joins other AI tools, such as Q, an AI chatbot for businesses, and Bedrock, a generative AI service for cloud customers, in Amazon’s growing AI ecosystem.
Amelia is powered by Amazon’s Bedrock software. It uses large language models (LLMs) developed by Amazon and its partners, including Anthropic and Stability AI.
According to Mehta, Amelia draws on public data and seller resources to provide insights. However, it is not trained on specific seller data, ensuring that confidential information remains secure.
The assistant uses a method called retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), which combines AI with information retrieval methods.
This allows Amelia to access seller-specific information from Amazon’s internal systems without storing it or including it in the model’s training data.
Expanding AI Tools for Sellers
In addition to Amelia, Amazon is launching new tools that will allow sellers to create AI-generated video ads and bulk-write product listings based on their catalog.
The company is also using AI to display personalized product recommendations based on a shopper’s history.
For instance, Amazon could highlight terms like “gluten-free” in the product descriptions of items like cereal if it aligns with a shopper’s search preferences.
These innovations demonstrate Amazon’s commitment to improving the shopping experience for customers while providing more efficient tools for sellers.
AI’s Growing Role in E-Commerce
The introduction of Amelia comes as part of Amazon’s broader push to leverage AI across its business.
CEO Andy Jassy has been vocal about the significant opportunities that AI presents.
He said:
“I don’t know if any of us has seen a possibility like this in technology in a long time, for sure since the cloud, perhaps since the internet.”
Other tech giants like Google and Microsoft are also vying for dominance in the AI space. Both companies are rolling out their own generative AI products to remain competitive in a market that is projected to reach $1 trillion in revenue within the next decade.
Looking Ahead
As Amazon continues to innovate and expand its AI tools, the introduction of Amelia could streamline operations for third-party sellers, improving their experience on the platform.
More than 400,000 of Amazon’s millions of third-party sellers already utilizing its AI listing tool. The company is banking on the growing adoption of AI to further strengthen its e-commerce dominance.
With the holiday shopping season fast approaching and Amazon’s Prime Day event set for October 8-9, Amelia and other AI-driven tools are poised to play a crucial role in helping sellers navigate this busy period.
Key Takeaways
Amazon’s investment in AI reflects the company’s commitment to using cutting-edge technology to enhance the seller and customer experience.
Amelia’s ability to resolve account issues quickly and efficiently, along with other AI-powered features, could prove to be game-changing for third-party merchants.
It could ultimately helping them grow their businesses in an increasingly competitive landscape.
