Seattle — Amazon Launches Text-to-Alexa Shopping Before Holidays

Amazon said Friday it is rolling out a feature that lets customers text its Alexa AI agent to shop, following the company's decision in September to block Meta's Muse shopping agent from querying Amazon's site, according to TechCrunch.

Amazon said select U.S. customers will receive a text message inviting them to enable the feature, with broader access expected in the coming weeks. Those who are not initially invited can join a waitlist, the company said.

What does the Alexa text feature do?

Customers with access can text Alexa using natural-language requests to search for items, add them to a cart, and complete purchases, TechCrunch reported. The text agent builds on recent shopping upgrades to Alexa, letting users manage shopping lists, track prices, search for products across the web, compare listings, and check order status. Users can also send a photo of an item — or a photo of someone wearing an outfit — to find similar products on Amazon, according to the report.

Amazon said that over time, Alexa will learn individual users' preferences and surface suggestions based on past behavior.

Why did Amazon block Meta's Muse?

The new feature arrives two months after Amazon cut off access to Muse, Meta's AI shopping agent, preventing it from querying Amazon's site, TechCrunch reported. The blocking move set up Amazon's own agent as the primary AI shopping tool available to customers browsing its marketplace, rather than ceding that function to a third-party assistant built by a competitor.

How big is the rollout, and why now?

Amazon is introducing the texting option just ahead of the holiday shopping season, positioning Alexa's text-based agent to compete directly with other AI shopping tools such as Muse and Instinct, according to TechCrunch. The report did not specify exact user counts beyond noting the feature targets "select U.S. customers" initially, with wider access following in subsequent weeks.

By the numbers

• September 2026: Amazon blocks Meta's Muse from accessing its site, according to TechCrunch.
• Hundreds: total orders placed by third-party AI agents on DoorDash's platform to date, per the company's own account cited by TechCrunch.

How are other platforms responding to AI shopping agents?

DoorDash said last month that third-party agents had placed only hundreds of orders in total on its platform, prompting the delivery company to focus instead on expanding its own text-based agent, which it launched in September, TechCrunch reported.

"The company said users who don't get invited to use this feature can sign up to a waitlist." — TechCrunch, Nov. 6, 2026

What happens next for shoppers without access?

Customers who are not among the initial group invited to test the feature can join a waitlist, Amazon said, with the company indicating the rollout will expand in the coming weeks. TechCrunch noted the timing is tied to the start of the holiday shopping season, when competition among AI shopping agents from Amazon, Meta, and delivery platforms such as DoorDash is intensifying.

For related coverage of how companies are drawing lines around AI tool access, see Google Clarifies Schools Can Block Gemini, Not AI Search.

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