Amazon tests generative AI shopping and health assistants

Amazon is quietly testing two new generative AI tools on its app and website: a curated shopping assistant called Interests AI, and a medical chatbot dubbed Health AI.

An Amazon spokesperson confirmed the beta tests with a subset of users, coming just weeks after CEO Andy Jassy revealed that teams across the company have built or are building around 1,000 generative AI applications.

Interests AI lives separately from Amazon's main search bar. Instead of typing rigid keywords, shoppers describe what they want in natural language, like "coffee brewing gadgets" or "children books about persistence and dealing with failure." Large language models then translate those phrases into search queries and attributes to generate tailored product collections. Amazon plans to roll it out to all U.S. users in the coming months.

Health AI pushes even deeper into delicate territory. While Amazon's existing Rufus bot can suggest ice packs and ibuprofen, Health AI answers everyday wellness questions and suggests care tips for conditions like cold and flu symptoms.

To manage liability, the tool explicitly notes it cannot provide personalized medical advice. Select responses carry a "clinically verified" badge, meaning the information was reviewed by licensed U.S. clinicians. Crucially, Health AI steers users toward Amazon Pharmacy and One Medical, the primary care network Amazon acquired for roughly $3.9 billion in 2022. The health assistant runs on Amazon Bedrock, according to the company.

Industry observers note these assistants may serve a broader purpose. Andrew Bell, an e-commerce manager who studies Amazon's patent filings and AI work, spotted the features on LinkedIn and noted that Amazon's upcoming Alexa+ agent could eventually query Health AI for medical questions and Rufus or Interests AI for shopping tasks.

Why it matters

Amazon is fighting a crucial defensive battle against ChatGPT and external chatbots. As consumers increasingly treat LLMs as front-door product advisers, Amazon risks losing top-of-funnel discovery. Interests AI gives casual browsers a conversational reason to stay inside the Amazon app instead of asking an outside bot for gift ideas.

Health AI is an even sharper play. Tying Bedrock models directly to One Medical's clinical network and Amazon Pharmacy transforms generic AI health queries into immediate, high-margin transactions. Adding clinician verification helps blunt the inevitable hallucination concerns, though we believe managing liability around health guidance remains an enormous tightrope compared to standard product search.