In a move that might seem odd at first glance, Amazon is now helping customers buy products from other retailers. The e-commerce giant recently announced a new AI-powered feature called “Buy for Me” that lets shoppers purchase items directly from brand websites without leaving the Amazon app.
This isn’t just another shopping tool – it marks a fundamental shift in how Amazon sees its role in the retail world.
The Mechanics Behind Amazon’s AI Shopping Agent
Amazon’s Buy for Me feature works through its shopping app on both iOS and Android platforms. When customers search for items that Amazon doesn’t sell, the app shows results from other brand websites under a section labeled “Shop brand sites directly.”
Users can then select an item and tap the “Buy for Me” button to have Amazon’s AI agent complete the purchase on their behalf.
Using what Amazon calls “agentic AI,” the system visits the external website, fills in the customer’s shipping details and payment information, and places the order.
The customer stays in the Amazon app throughout this process, seeing only the final confirmation. All shipping, returns, and customer service are handled by the brand directly.
This approach is quite different from other AI shopping agents we’ve seen from companies like OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity.
While those platforms either require users to input their payment details manually or use prepaid cards, Amazon’s agent handles the entire transaction, including sending your encrypted payment information to the third party.
From Walled Garden to Gateway: A Strategic Shift
For years, Amazon has worked to keep shoppers within its ecosystem. The company built its business on the promise of having everything you could need in one place. So why the sudden interest in sending customers elsewhere?
This shift points to a more mature approach to retail dominance. Instead of trying to sell everything directly, Amazon is positioning itself as the starting point for all shopping journeys.
By becoming the gateway to other brands, Amazon maintains its central position in e-commerce while expanding its reach beyond its own inventory.
This strategy allows Amazon to capture data about shopping interests even when they can’t fulfill the purchase themselves. They learn what products customers want that aren’t currently in their store, potentially informing future inventory decisions.
For brands, this creates an interesting situation. They gain access to Amazon’s massive customer base without having to sell through the Amazon marketplace, where they would face direct competition from Amazon’s private labels and lose direct customer relationships.
What This Means for Retailers and Brands
The implications for other retailers are mixed. On one hand, brands get exposure to Amazon’s vast customer base without surrendering control of the customer relationship.
Orders still come directly to the brand, complete with customer contact information, allowing for follow-up marketing and relationship building.
On the other hand, this positions Amazon as an even more powerful middleman. Brands that participate essentially acknowledge Amazon as the starting point for shopping journeys.
This could further cement Amazon’s role as the default shopping destination, making it harder for brands to drive direct traffic to their own websites.
Smaller retailers face an especially complex calculation. If they stay out, they miss potential sales from Amazon’s user base. If they participate, they risk becoming dependent on Amazon for traffic while also giving Amazon insight into their product performance data.
New Customer Experience and Trust Considerations
From the customer perspective, Buy for Me offers clear convenience benefits. Shoppers can browse for products across multiple retailers while maintaining the familiarity of the Amazon interface.
They don’t need to create accounts on various websites or re-enter their payment information for each purchase.
However, this convenience comes with new trust considerations. Customers must be comfortable with Amazon’s AI acting on their behalf and handling their payment details across multiple websites.
The FAQs make it clear that Amazon’s return policies and A-to-Z guarantee don’t apply to these purchases. This creates a mixed customer service model where some orders fall under Amazon’s protection while others don’t.
The feature also raises questions about how customers will handle issues with orders. If something goes wrong, they’ll need to contact the brand directly rather than working through Amazon’s customer service.
This could lead to confusion and frustration if not clearly communicated.
Technical Implementation and Privacy Implications
The technical aspects of Buy for Me reveal how far AI agents have come. Amazon says the system uses their Nova AI models, likely including Nova Act, which can autonomously interact with websites. The company also mentions using Anthropic’s Claude to power the feature.
This raises intriguing privacy questions. Amazon claims they use encryption to “securely” insert billing information on third-party sites and cannot see what customers order from other platforms. Yet the system must have enough access to complete purchases, track orders, and relay confirmation emails.
Amazon has created a unique email address for each order that forwards brand communications to the customer. If customers reply, their messages go directly to the brand. This maintains the direct brand-customer communication while keeping Amazon in the loop on order status.
An important limitation worth noting is that Buy for Me currently only supports single-item purchases. This constraint likely helps Amazon manage potential errors while they refine the technology.
The Economics Behind the Strategy
The economic model behind Buy for Me isn’t entirely clear from Amazon’s announcement. Does Amazon take a commission on these sales? Or is the value purely in maintaining customer engagement and collecting data on shopping behavior?
The feature certainly helps Amazon fill gaps in its product catalog without taking on inventory risk. It allows them to essentially say “we can help you find anything” even if they don’t sell it themselves.
For participating brands, the economics depend on how Amazon implements the system. If Amazon takes a cut of sales, brands must weigh this against the cost of other customer acquisition channels. If the service is free or low-cost for brands, it could be an attractive way to tap into Amazon’s traffic.
How Retailers Should Respond
For retailers watching this development, several considerations should guide their response:
First, assess whether participation makes sense for your brand. Brands with strong direct traffic may want to protect their customer relationships rather than becoming dependent on Amazon as an intermediary.
Second, if you do participate, pay close attention to the customer experience. Make sure your brand still shines through in the ordering and fulfillment process. Consider including marketing materials with shipments to build direct relationships.
Third, watch for how customers respond to this hybrid model. Will they expect Amazon-level customer service even though purchases are ultimately fulfilled by your brand? Be prepared to handle questions and concerns clearly.
Fourth, use any data you gather from these Amazon-facilitated purchases to better understand customer needs and preferences. This could help refine your product offerings and marketing strategies.
Finally, consider how this shift fits into broader AI shopping trends. Many tech companies are developing AI shopping assistants. Your strategy should account for a future where more customers rely on AI to help them shop.
What This Reveals About the Future of E-commerce
Amazon’s Buy for Me feature gives us a glimpse into how AI is reshaping e-commerce. Rather than simply replacing human tasks, AI is creating new shopping models that wouldn’t have been feasible before.
We’re likely seeing the early stages of a new retail landscape where the companies that own customer relationships aren’t necessarily the same ones that handle inventory and fulfillment. The boundaries between marketplaces, retailers, and brands are blurring.
For consumers, this could mean more convenient shopping experiences with fewer friction points. For retailers, it means adapting to a world where AI agents increasingly mediate the shopping journey.
Beyond Amazon, this development hints at a future where AI shopping agents become standard tools for consumers. These agents might compare prices across sites, track past preferences, and handle routine purchases with minimal human input.
As we enter this new phase of AI-assisted commerce, both shoppers and retailers will need to find the right balance between convenience and control. For now, Amazon’s experiment shows us that even the biggest names in e-commerce are still figuring out how to adapt to this AI-driven future.
What steps will you take to prepare your business for this new world of AI shopping agents?
