Amazon’s shopping-focused chatbot Rufus is launching across Europe after returning to the US in February. After landing in the UK in September, it will begin rolling out in beta in Germany, France, Italy and Spain from today. The company says this is a gradual rollout and it could take several weeks for all users in the aforementioned countries to receive the software update.
To start using Rufus, look for the icon in the bottom right corner of the mobile app. This will open a chat box. Customers can tap this chat box to ask follow-up questions or receive more information about existing queries. Since this is a beta release, Amazon encourages customers to leave feedback by “rating the answer with a thumbs up or thumbs down.” There are also options for more direct, free-form feedback.
For the uninitiated, Rufus is a generative AI shopping assistant trained on Amazon’s entire product catalog, customer reviews, community Q&A, and “information on the web.” This is a chatbot, so customers can ask Rufus questions about products and more.
For example, users can ask Rufus if a particular pair of running shoes are durable or if a jacket is machine washable. However, since this is AI, Amazon acknowledges that the information may not always be accurate. “Generative AI is still in its infancy, and the technology doesn’t always work accurately,” the company wrote.
If you live in the US, you already have access to chatbots. Look for an icon that looks like two chat bubbles along with the name Rufus.
