This article starts with an explanation of Amazon’s “Buy for Me” and covers its availability in the United States, its impact on shopping behaviour, and how it functions for shoppers including interface features, purchasing process, and limitations. It then explains how the feature works for sellers, details the underlying AI technology such as Nova and Claude, and defines agentic commerce and how it differs from traditional e-commerce. The article continues by examining industry-wide implications, consumer benefits like convenience and accessibility, and finally ends with an analysis of the opportunities and challenges of this agentic AI shopping feature.
Amazon’s “Buy for Me” is a beta feature allowing US users to purchase items from external brand websites directly within the Amazon app using agentic AI. It completes transactions without redirection by securely transmitting user data. Powered by models like Nova and Claude, it exemplifies agentic commerce, where autonomous agents execute shopping tasks independently. For consumers, it streamlines purchases, enhances accessibility, and ensures price transparency. For sellers, especially DTC brands, it expands exposure and necessitates content and pricing optimisation for AI surfacing. The article explains how this model differs from traditional e-commerce by shifting from query-based interactions to goal-oriented automation, introduces competitive dynamics and outlines the privacy, bias, and user experience challenges that accompany its benefits.
What is Amazon’s “Buy for Me”?
Amazon’s Buy for Me is an AI-enabled feature within the Amazon Shopping app designed to help customers purchase products from external brand websites when those items are not sold in Amazon’s own store. The feature integrates seamlessly into the search and shopping experience by displaying external products in a dedicated section titled Shop brand sites directly.
Customers selecting an item with the Buy for Me button request Amazon’s AI to complete the purchase on their behalf inside the Amazon Shopping app. The AI securely provides encrypted personal, shipping, and payment data to finalise the order to the brand’s website. The service enables customers to remain within the Amazon app while purchasing offsite products, enhancing convenience and reducing friction in cross-site shopping.
The Buy for Me feature is part of Amazon’s strategy to expand product discovery and access beyond its direct catalogue. Amazon currently applies no commission to purchases made through this feature during the beta phase, and no Amazon returns policies or guarantees apply to these transactions.
Customers selecting a product are presented with a detailed page within the app containing relevant specifications sourced from the brand site. Through agentic AI, Amazon’s “Buy for Me” securely automates the checkout process on brand websites, filling in customer information and completing the purchase within the Amazon app, without redirecting users or exposing their payment data.
The customer receives an order confirmation email from the brand and can monitor delivery using the Buy for Me Orders tab within the Amazon app. Delivery, returns, and customer service are managed by the brand in accordance with its policies. The feature currently allows the purchase of a single item per order and does not support the use of promotional codes. Sale prices and automatically applied discounts from brand sites are reflected in the order total. Amazon does not apply its returns policy or the A-to-Z guarantee to these transactions.
Amazon provides a secure, unique relay email address for each order to handle communications between the customer and the brand.
Where Is Amazon’s “Buy for Me” Currently Available?
Buy for Me is currently in beta and is accessible to a subset of customers in the United States using the Amazon Shopping app on iOS and Android devices. The initial phase includes a limited selection of brand stores and products. Amazon has stated its intention to expand the feature to more customers and brands over time, guided by feedback from the beta programme.
The current rollout allows customers to see external direct-to-consumer (DTC) products in Amazon search results, identified under the Shop brand sites directly label. The feature supports purchases from these external sites through Amazon’s AI without customers leaving the app environment. This approach ensures that Amazon retains control over the shopping journey, even for offsite transactions.
How does it shift shopping behaviour?
Buy for Me introduces a shift in shopping behaviour by enabling goal-driven transactions managed by agentic AI. Rather than requiring customers to leave the Amazon app and manually navigate external sites, the feature allows Amazon’s AI to complete purchases from other brand websites directly within the app environment. This eliminates the need for multiple clicks, redirects, or separate browser sessions, keeping customers inside Amazon’s ecosystem throughout the discovery and purchase process.
The feature transitions shopping from search-driven browsing to task-driven commerce. Amazon’s agentic AI, using models such as Nova and Claude, identifies suitable products on external sites, completes checkout procedures, and handles encrypted customer data, all without user intervention beyond initial approval. This preserves intent and reduces cart abandonment that often results from offsite redirection or complex checkout flows.
Additionally, Buy for Me reinforces Amazon’s role as a central discovery platform rather than solely a direct seller. By enabling external purchases, Amazon expands its function from retailer to commerce facilitator. This approach reflects a broader move towards agentic commerce, where AI agents autonomously act to achieve shopper goals, streamlining transactions while respecting consumer control over choices.
How “Buy for Me” Works for Shoppers?
Buy for Me is designed to enable seamless purchasing of external products while keeping customers within the Amazon Shopping app. When users search for branded products, the app displays results from Amazon’s own listings, third-party sellers, and a separate section titled Shop brand sites directly. Customers selecting a product from this section can view detailed information on a page that mirrors Amazon’s standard product listings.
The AI securely transmits encrypted payment, shipping, and contact details to the external site. Customers remain within the Amazon app throughout the process and can track orders via the Buy for Me Orders tab. Delivery, returns, and customer service are handled by the brand according to its own policies. This design reduces the friction of leaving the app and ensures a unified shopping experience.
Example scenario
A shopper searching for a specific product, such as a limited-edition sneaker or a specialised kitchen gadget not stocked by Amazon, can find it via Shop brand sites directly. The customer taps Buy for Me, reviews the detail page, and approves the purchase. Amazon’s AI finalises the transaction on the brand’s website without requiring the customer to visit the external site.
Cross-site purchases: scope and limitations
Amazon’s Buy for Me feature introduces a dual-path experience within the Shopping app. Products surfaced under the “Shop brand sites directly” section can either link to a brand’s website for manual purchase or, in select cases, include a Buy for Me button. When the Buy for Me option is displayed, Amazon’s agentic AI conducts the purchase on the customer’s behalf without redirecting them to the brand’s site.
This mechanism keeps the shopper entirely within the Amazon ecosystem. Product detail pages mimic native listings, and checkout is processed within the app using encrypted customer information. Where no Buy for Me button is shown, only a redirection link to the brand’s site is provided, and Amazon does not facilitate the purchase.
There are several key limitations to cross-site purchases through Buy for Me. Purchases are restricted to one item per order, and promotional codes cannot be applied during checkout. Pricing shown in the Amazon app is sourced from the brand’s site and refreshed regularly, but variations may occur if the brand updates its pricing after Amazon’s last refresh.
Returns, exchanges, and customer service are governed solely by the brand’s policies. Amazon’s own return policy and the A-to-Z guarantee do not apply to these transactions. Furthermore, the AI purchasing service does not share customer data with brands when customers are redirected to external sites manually; only when Buy for Me completes a transaction are the encrypted customer details securely transmitted for the purpose of order fulfilment.
Payment processing, security measures
Buy for Me processes payments by securely transmitting customer data to the brand’s website through Amazon’s agentic AI system. When a customer authorises a purchase, the AI provides the brand with encrypted personal information, including name, delivery address, payment details, phone number, and a unique relay email address created for that specific order. This ensures that sensitive data is protected during transmission and use.
The estimated total displayed at checkout includes the product price, shipping charges, and applicable taxes. In rare cases, customers agree in advance to pay up to $5 more than the estimated total to account for possible price updates on the brand’s site. If the final total exceeds this threshold, Amazon requests explicit confirmation before completing the order.
Amazon does not store or access customers’ historical or future orders placed on external brand sites via Buy for Me. Furthermore, transaction data is not used for Amazon’s internal sourcing, inventory, or pricing decisions.
How “Buy for Me” Works for Sellers?
Buy for Me introduces a new model for sellers, where brand websites are surfaced directly in Amazon Shopping app search results. This allows brands that do not sell through Amazon’s marketplace to benefit from exposure within the app, while Amazon facilitates transactions through its AI agent on external sites. The feature shifts Amazon’s role from retailer to discovery and transaction facilitator, with customer service, delivery, and returns handled entirely by the brand.
Seller eligibility and mechanics
The feature is in beta and limited to selected brands whose products are not sold directly on Amazon. Brands participating are those with websites containing structured, public product data that Amazon can display in its app. Listings use brand-sourced titles, descriptions, prices, images, and ratings, refreshed regularly. Sellers do not pay commissions or fees to be included in Buy for Me. Brands retain control over product content and can request participation, exclusion, or provide feedback via branddirect@amazon.com. Amazon does not use transactional data from these purchases for its own inventory, sourcing, or pricing decisions.
How do I increase visibility on Buy for Me?
To increase visibility in Buy for Me, brands should focus on optimising their website data. This includes maintaining accurate product descriptions, competitive pricing, clear titles, high-resolution images, and up-to-date inventory levels. Because Amazon pulls this data for display, well-maintained content increases the likelihood of favourable representation. In addition, strong on-site SEO and positive customer ratings can enhance product prominence. While advertising is not mandatory, investing in Amazon ads or DSP campaigns could further drive discovery and traffic through the app.
How does Amazon Buy for Me Impact brands not selling their products on Amazon?
Buy for Me offers brands without Amazon marketplace listings a unique opportunity to be discovered by Amazon shoppers while retaining control over the sales process. This model allows direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands and external retailers to engage Amazon’s customer base without listing inventory on Amazon. It positions Amazon as a gateway to the wider e-commerce landscape, supporting the company’s transition from a closed retail platform to a broader commerce facilitator. This shift benefits DTC brands by enabling direct relationships with customers while leveraging Amazon’s reach for product discovery.
What is the Technology Behind Amazon’s Buy for Me?
Buy for Me is powered by Amazon’s advanced AI architecture, designed to perform autonomous transactions on behalf of shoppers. It integrates agentic AI models to manage tasks that previously required manual customer input, supporting the transition from search-driven to task-driven commerce.
The feature operates using Amazon’s Nova model, developed for agentic tasks, alongside Anthropic’s Claude model. Both models support autonomous decision-making and task execution without continuous human intervention. These are deployed through Amazon Bedrock, a managed service that hosts foundation models to deliver AI capabilities at scale.
What Is Agentic Commerce, and How Is It Different from Traditional E-Commerce?
Agentic commerce refers to the use of autonomous AI agents that act on behalf of customers to achieve defined shopping goals. Unlike traditional AI that responds to queries or follows predefined rules, agentic AI independently sets goals, makes decisions, and completes actions such as purchasing products or managing transactions. In the case of Buy for Me, agentic AI moves beyond assisting with discovery or recommendations; it completes end-to-end purchasing tasks across external sites without manual steps from the user.
What Is Agentic Commerce?
Agentic commerce is a form of AI-driven retail interaction in which autonomous agents act on behalf of users to achieve specific shopping objectives. These agents perform end-to-end tasks such as identifying products, populating checkout information, and submitting orders without user intervention. In Amazon’s “Buy for Me”, the AI agent processes the purchase entirely within the app interface, securely transmitting encrypted data including the customer’s name, address, and payment details to external brand websites for fulfilment.
How Is Agentic CommerceIt Different from Traditional E-Commerce?
Traditional e-commerce depends on the user to navigate each stage: product discovery, price evaluation, checkout, and confirmation. Even when assisted by recommendation engines or voice input, human action is essential to complete a transaction. These systems operate within a reactive paradigm where the AI supports but does not act.
Agentic commerce redefines this by making AI the actor. It identifies relevant options, evaluates external product listings, and autonomously completes transactions without redirection or manual steps. Amazon’s “Buy for Me” illustrates this by enabling customers to remain in the app while the AI finalises the transaction on an external site. This shift from a search-driven interface to a goal-oriented system enhances efficiency and preserves intent continuity.
What Are the Industry-Wide Impacts of Amazon’s AI Shopping Agent?
The launch of Buy for Me marks a potentially big transformation in e-commerce, positioning Amazon as a central gateway for transactions regardless of where products are sold. It reflects a shift in market dynamics, competitive positioning, and future AI-driven commerce models.
What does this mean for the future of e-commerce?
Buy for Me signals a move toward platform-agnostic commerce, where Amazon facilitates transactions beyond its inventory. This approach expands Amazon’s influence from a marketplace to a discovery and transaction broker across the web. It reinforces the trend towards AI agents managing tasks that traditionally required human effort, advancing frictionless shopping experiences. Agentic AI is expected to become a standard component of e-commerce, driving personalisation and operational efficiency across platforms.
The adoption of Buy for Me points to a broader future where shopping agents handle increasingly complex tasks. AI models such as Amazon’s Nova are expected to evolve to manage returns, submit service requests, monitor inventory, and coordinate compliance activities across platforms. The industry is moving toward end-to-end, AI-managed commerce workflows, where agents proactively address shopper needs and operational tasks with minimal manual involvement.
Is AI Shopping Making Life Easier for Consumers?
Yes. Buy for Me introduces significant changes in the shopping experience by enhancing convenience, enabling cost control, improving accessibility, and raising questions about control and transparency. Below are some of the key ways it impacts consumers:
1. Convenience and speed
Buy for Me simplifies the shopping process by enabling customers to complete purchases from external sites without leaving the Amazon app. The feature eliminates the need for multiple tabs, redirects, or manual checkout processes, offering a seamless experience. The AI agent fills in shipping and payment details securely, allowing transactions to be completed faster.
2. Deals and cost safeguards
Amazon applies safeguards such as limiting the final transaction amount to a small margin (up to $5 over the estimated total) without further confirmation. This structure supports transparency and helps protect consumers from unexpected costs while enabling access to competitive deals surfaced by the AI.
3. Accessibility
Buy for Me enhances accessibility by reducing the steps needed to complete a purchase. It benefits groups such as elderly shoppers or busy professionals by handling tasks like form filling and site navigation. The agentic AI ensures that shoppers can make purchases from multiple retailers without leaving the Amazon app interface, offering an inclusive and efficient alternative to traditional online shopping.
4. Concerns: control, transparency
The introduction of autonomous AI purchasing raises potential concerns about loss of control and transparency. While the AI acts on shopper authorisation, some consumers may hesitate to delegate purchase decisions or the entry of sensitive information to an AI agent. Questions about data use, decision-making logic, and the visibility of purchase terms persist, even though Amazon states that data is encrypted and transactions follow the brand’s policies.
How Does “Buy for Me” Affect Brands and Sellers?
The Buy for Me feature introduces significant shifts for brands and sellers, altering discovery mechanisms, SEO strategies, ad approaches, and competitive positioning for both third-party sellers and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands.
Discovery changes
Buy for Me expands product discovery beyond Amazon’s inventory, allowing external DTC brands to surface in Amazon search results. This change positions Amazon as the starting point for discovery, regardless of where purchases are finalised. The agentic AI ensures that shoppers can access a broader selection, which reshapes how consumers encounter and consider products.
SEO, merchandising, ad strategy shifts
The integration of external products into Amazon’s ecosystem increases the importance of optimising product data, pricing, and reviews on brand sites to ensure visibility. Brands may prioritise investments in Amazon DSP, Sponsored Ads, and off-Amazon SEO to remain competitive within search-driven and agentic shopping environments. The need to align merchandising with AI-driven discovery models becomes central to sustaining visibility.
DTC advantages
DTC brands gain new opportunities as Buy for Me directs Amazon’s shopper base to their websites while allowing them to retain control of customer data, fulfillment, and service. The model supports omni-channel presence without requiring direct inventory placement on Amazon. This approach aligns with DTC brand preferences for owning the customer relationship while benefiting from Amazon’s search traffic.
What Are the Key Opportunities and Challenges of “Buy for Me”?
The Buy for Me feature presents distinct opportunities for growth and efficiency, while introducing challenges that warrant consideration across privacy, fairness, and the nature of consumer engagement.
The Opportunities are:
- Enhanced personalisation: The agentic AI enables purchases aligned with individual shopper intent, creating a highly tailored shopping experience.
- Market expansion: Brands, including DTC operators, gain exposure to Amazon’s shopper base without needing to list inventory directly, supporting broader reach.
- Increased customer loyalty: The frictionless, unified shopping journey encourages shoppers to return to Amazon as the central platform for discovery and transactions.
Challenges
- Privacy concerns: Delegation of purchasing authority to AI agents and the sharing of encrypted customer data with brand sites raise shopper concerns about data use.
- AI bias risks: There is potential for unfair prioritisation or selection of products by the AI, with limited transparency into how decisions are made.
- Impact on browsing behaviour: The shift to task-driven shopping reduces exploratory browsing, which may affect traditional merchandising and impulse purchase dynamics.
