Amazon launches AI-powered audio Q&A for product pages

On Tuesday, Amazon unveiled an innovative AI feature named "Join the chat," allowing customers to inquire about products and receive immediate audio responses from "AI-powered shopping experts." This tool is designed to streamline the shopping experience by summarizing product information, customer reviews, and feedback, eliminating the need for users to sift through extensive text. Shoppers can pose targeted questions, like whether a coffee maker is suitable for beginners or if a sweater is itchy according to reviews. The AI enhances its responses based on previous interactions to ensure relevance and avoid redundancy, simulating a conversation with an informed store associate. "Join the chat" complements the "Hear the highlights" feature, which provides concise audio summaries on millions of product pages in the Amazon Shopping app. This feature began testing in May 2025 and is currently available in the U.S. for select products. To access it, customers navigate to a product page, click the "Hear the highlights" button beneath the product image, and can either listen to a summary or select "Join the chat" to ask questions via text or voice. Audio continues while browsing. This new addition enhances Amazon's existing AI shopping tools, which include Rufus (a generative AI assistant for product research), Interests (tracking new items based on preferences), and "Help me decide" (suggesting products based on search history).