Amazon’s AI Can Now Buy Products for You—Even From Other Websites: Here’s How It Works

Amazon is quietly testing a feature that could reshape how we shop online, and it's not about faster delivery or smarter recommendations this time. It's about handing the entire checkout process to artificial intelligence.

The feature is called "Buy for Me," and as the name suggests, it lets Amazon's AI make purchases on your behalf. Not just from Amazon's marketplace, but from other brand websites too.

Right now, it's only available in beta to a limited number of users in the U.S. through the Amazon Shopping app on Android and iOS. But even in this early phase, it feels like a step toward a more autonomous, AI-driven shopping experience.

A Shopping Agent That Actually Buys Stuff

Here's how it works. When you're browsing in the Amazon app and search for a product that Amazon doesn't carry, you might come across a section labeled "Shop brand sites directly." These are listings pulled in from outside retailers-something Amazon has only recently started experimenting with.

If one of those external listings has a "Buy for Me" option, you can tap it. That's when Amazon's AI steps in. It uses your saved delivery address and payment method to complete the purchase on the third-party website, without you having to leave the app or manually check out.

The result? You get the product from the original brand, but without bouncing between apps or sites. It's like having a personal assistant who not only finds the product for you, but places the order, fills out the form, and confirms the payment-while you stay right where you are.

What's Powering This AI Assistant?

Amazon says this AI-powered agent runs on its own Nova models alongside Claude, an AI developed by Anthropic. Both are deployed via Amazon Bedrock, the company's in-house platform for building and scaling generative AI tools.

That combination allows the AI to handle tasks like navigating a brand's checkout flow, entering your details securely, and submitting the order-things that, until now, have always required human interaction.

So Who's Actually Fulfilling Your Order?

While Amazon is placing the order, it's not fulfilling it. Once the purchase is complete, the brand's website handles shipping, returns, exchanges, and customer service-just like any normal purchase. The only difference is that your order appears in a new "Buy for Me Orders" section in the Amazon app, so you can track it the same way you would an Amazon package.

One important note: Amazon says it doesn't have access to your other past purchases from the brand's site, and it doesn't save your order history beyond what it processes on your behalf.

Where Things Stand (and What's Next)

The feature is still in its early days. It only works for a small group of users, and only on a limited number of brand websites. But Amazon says it plans to expand both over time.

If it succeeds, this could become a new standard for digital shopping. Not just passive browsing or suggested deals-but a full-service AI that takes shopping off your plate entirely.

Still, it raises questions. Would you let AI make financial decisions for you? Would you trust it to get the details right? And how much control are you willing to give up for the sake of convenience?

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