Amazon Launches Project Amelia: An AI Assistant to Advise and Act on Behalf of Third-Party Sellers.

On Thursday, Amazon introduced a new AI-powered personal assistant aimed at third-party sellers, marking one of several features rolled out for independent vendors this week. Amazon Launches Project Amelia: An AI Assistant to Advise and Act on Behalf of Third-Party Sellers.

Internally referred to as Project Amelia, this assistant is designed to answer sellers’ questions, provide advice, and eventually diagnose issues and take action on their behalf. This initiative builds on Amazon’s previous efforts to integrate generative AI into its services, such as AI-generated product listings and tools like the shopping assistant Rufus and the chatbot Q. The company is also working on enhancements to its voice assistant, Alexa, powered by a new subscription-based AI service.

Project Amelia will operate on Amazon Bedrock, an Amazon Web Services offering that provides foundational learning models for companies to create and scale AI applications. According to Dharmesh Mehta, vice president of selling partner services, Amazon has been developing Project Amelia for over a year. The project is named after the Amelia building in South Lake Union, which honors Amelia Earhart.

Courtesy of Amazon

In its beta version, launched Thursday, Project Amelia can answer queries about a seller’s inventory, sales figures, and customer traffic. It can also provide advice on launching new products or preparing for the holiday season, suggesting actions like adding keywords to product listings or promoting seasonal items.

The assistant may encourage sellers to explore Amazon’s other services, such as Fulfillment by Amazon, which allows third-party sellers to utilize Amazon’s fulfillment network for order shipping. Currently, Project Amelia functions similarly to other chatbots, where users type questions into a text box and receive responses after a brief processing time, along with suggested follow-up questions.

However, Mehta envisions a future where Project Amelia requires less interaction, potentially offering to take direct action for sellers. For example, instead of merely discussing holiday preparations, the assistant might proactively set up a 20% discount on festive T-shirts.

“We’re leveraging generative AI throughout the shopping experience, and if we can create a better shopping experience, then customers love the products, they come more often, that’s all good for sellers,” Mehta stated. He emphasized the continuous innovation in the shopping experience, suggesting that generative AI could transform every aspect of the selling process.

Mehta likened the beta version of Project Amelia to a concierge service that handles various user inquiries and works behind the scenes to find solutions. In this context, the “plumbers and electricians” are other data models trained to be subject-matter experts across various topics.

Over the past three months, interest in Amazon’s AI tools for writing product listings has surged, according to Mehta. Since its launch last year, these tools have become more refined, allowing sellers to start by inputting keywords, then adding images or URLs, and eventually enabling them to upload entire product catalogs for the AI to manage. Additionally, Amazon plans to introduce a feature that generates advertising videos for sellers using AI.

During its annual conference for third-party sellers, Amazon also announced a range of other new services, including capabilities for shipping products from overseas, a new app for Amazon Shipping users, and an automatic product replenishment service for sellers with low inventory.

Furthermore, Amazon revealed new partnerships with major e-commerce players like Google, TikTok, and PayPal. Third-party sellers using Buy With Prime can now showcase the Prime check mark and estimated delivery speeds on TikTok and Google’s shopping platforms, while merchants can offer Prime as a delivery option through PayPal.

Amazon Launches Project Amelia: An AI Assistant to Advise and Act on Behalf of Third-Party Sellers. This initiative exemplifies Amazon’s commitment to enhancing the seller experience through innovative technology.