News

Amazon Launches AI Commerce Tool Built on Bedrock

• By John K. Waters
• 09/23/2024

"Project Amelia," a generative AI-based assistant to help third-party sellers navigate the complexities of managing their businesses, is now rolling out as a limited beta from Amazon.

Project Amelia is an all-in-one AI "selling expert" built on Amazon Bedrock, the company's infrastructure for AI and machine learning models. With Bedrock, Amazon taps into the power of large-scale foundation models, enabling Amelia to process a wide range of seller-specific questions and provide tailored responses -- things like answering questions about inventory, forecasting trends, or solving account issues.

Amazon's investment in generative AI technology spans 25 years, with advancements now focused on transforming the seller experience. The AI assistant represents the latest in a suite of generative AI solutions that Amazon has brought to market, following tools like the shopping assistant Rufus and Bedrock for cloud customers.

Independent sellers face numerous challenges in managing their businesses on Amazon, including compliance, inventory management, sales forecasting, and marketing. Amelia's personalized capabilities were developed to simplify these complex processes. Sellers can interact with Amelia through Amazon's Seller Central dashboard, asking it questions like, "How is my business performing?" or "What are the top things I need to do to prepare for the holiday season?"

Amelia offers real-time data and tailored advice, such as recent sales metrics, customer traffic, and product-specific performance. Its ability to pull from both seller-specific data and a broader knowledge base sets it apart, offering sellers unique insights that are specific to their business needs.

Amelia also allows sellers to retrieve key business metrics quickly. With just a question, sellers can access sales data, traffic reports, and growth comparisons over time. By leveraging Amazon Bedrock's generative AI models, Amelia synthesizes this information into actionable insights, making it easier for sellers to plan their next moves. For instance, a seller can ask, "How are my cotton t-shirts performing this quarter?" and receive a detailed breakdown of sales, traffic, and customer behavior around that specific product.

In addition to its knowledge-based answers and operational assistance, Amelia is designed to learn and evolve. The assistant will improve its responses as it gathers more data from seller interactions, ultimately offering deeper, more insightful recommendations. Over time, it is expected to anticipate sellers' needs before they even arise, much like Amazon's AI-powered shopping recommendations for consumers.

Amazon has ambitious plans for Amelia. While it is currently available to a limited number of U.S.-based sellers, the company intends to roll out the assistant to a broader audience later this year, including international sellers. By the end of 2024, Amelia will be available in multiple languages, further enhancing its accessibility for Amazon's global seller community.

The launch comes as Amazon doubles down on its investments in AI. Earlier this year, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlighted the "unprecedented" potential of generative AI, calling it a game-changer for businesses. "I don't know if any of us has seen a possibility like this in technology in a really long time, for sure since the cloud, perhaps since the internet," Jassy remarked during an earnings call in April. The introduction of Project Amelia reflects Amazon's push to capitalize on that potential, particularly in its e-commerce sector, where AI is becoming integral to enhancing seller and customer experiences.

As Amelia rolls out to more sellers, Amazon expects to see a shift in how merchants manage their operations, with more emphasis on automation, data-driven insights, and proactive issue resolution.

The debut of Project Amelia marks another step in Amazon's broader AI strategy. In addition to tools like Rufus and Bedrock, the company is enhancing its voice assistant Alexa with generative AI features, while investing billions in OpenAI competitor Anthropic to further develop cutting-edge AI technologies.

Amazon is also focusing on AI-generated product listings, video ads, and personalized recommendations for consumers. These tools are designed to create a more dynamic and engaging shopping experience while helping sellers better showcase their products and attract more customers.

As generative AI continues to reshape the e-commerce landscape, Amazon's Project Amelia stands as a key player in this evolving ecosystem, promising to revolutionize how sellers operate and grow their businesses on the platform.