Amazon India gets Rufus AI assistant: Here’s how it may help you in smarter shopping

Amazon has introduced its AI shopping assistant, Rufus, in beta to select users in India. This chatbot, available on the Amazon mobile app, is designed to respond to user queries, offer product recommendations, and compare different items to assist in shopping decisions. Rufus initially launched in beta form in February, but it was limited to users in the US. Amazon plans to expand this feature to more users in India over the next few weeks.

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How to Access and Use Rufus

On Tuesday, Amazon revealed the launch of Rufus in India. The assistant is accessible in beta form to a segment of Amazon’s mobile app users in the country. Users with access will notice a new icon in the app’s bottom right corner. Tapping this icon opens Rufus’ interface, displayed as a bottom sheet. A text field in the interface allows users to type in queries, and suggested questions can help those who are unsure how to begin. To close the chatbot, users can swipe down, and reopening it will show the previous conversation.

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Amazon states that users can interact with Rufus to browse various product categories, receive gift suggestions tailored to specific activities or occasions, compare products, and ask questions directly from a product’s detail page. Rufus draws on Amazon’s vast database and can also search the Internet to provide relevant answers. However, Amazon notes that the chatbot might occasionally provide incorrect information or “hallucinate.” In such cases, users can give feedback by rating the responses with a thumbs up or thumbs down, with an option to provide more detailed feedback.

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The Story Behind the Name

The name “Rufus” has an interesting backstory. According to the New York Times, Amazon has a tradition allowing employees to bring their dogs to work. Rufus was one of the first dogs to be seen in Amazon’s offices during the company’s early years, and this name has now been given to the new AI shopping assistant.