Amazon is pushing the boundaries of online shopping again—this time with a bold new AI-powered feature called “Buy for Me”, which lets users shop third-party websites directly through the Amazon app, without ever needing to visit another retailer’s site.
Built using Amazon’s Nova AI and powered by Claude, Anthropic’s large language model, the AI shopping assistant can search external retailers, compare products, auto-fill your shipping and payment details, and place orders on your behalf—all within the Amazon app.
“This could reshape e-commerce as we know it,” said analysts at Stockbroker Mac. “But it also raises a big question: How much trust are consumers really willing to hand over?”
Privacy Promises vs. Control Concerns
Amazon insists the system is fully encrypted, meaning even Amazon doesn’t know what you’re buying. But while the company touts end-to-end security, the move has sparked a wave of privacy concerns.
Critics worry that this might centralize consumer shopping behavior under Amazon’s ecosystem, giving it unprecedented insight into not just what people are buying—but where they’re buying from, and how often.
Another red flag? Returns aren’t handled by Amazon. If you buy something through “Buy for Me,” you’ll have to navigate returns and customer service directly with the third-party retailer.
A Game-Changer in Retail—or a Trust Test?
The service is being piloted in select U.S. markets and could roll out more broadly if testing goes well. While Google and OpenAI are developing similar AI shopping agents, Amazon’s version is the first to go all the way to checkout on your behalf—without asking for your credit card input.
That full-stack control is both the product’s superpower and its biggest risk.
“It’s insanely convenient,” said one beta tester on X. “But handing over your payment and shipping info to a black-box agent—no matter how secure—is a tough pill to swallow.”
Bigger Picture: Amazon’s Race to Reinvent Retail
Amazon is clearly betting that convenience will outweigh skepticism in the battle for retail AI dominance. By blurring the lines between Amazon and its competitors, the tech giant is positioning itself not just as a store—but as a shopping operating system.
And if it works? It could be the biggest shift in how people buy online since the invention of 1-click ordering.
Amazon stock ($AMZN) was up slightly in morning trading, buoyed by excitement around the company’s AI ambitions—though some investors are watching carefully for regulatory scrutiny.
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