Amazon has announced Amelia, a new AI tool designed to help third-party merchants manage their accounts more effectively. Amelia is intended to assist merchants swiftly resolve difficulties, collect sales and inventory data, and simplify their operations. The business announced the product’s test launch for select U.S. merchants, with intentions to extend availability later this year. Amelia, which is available through Seller Central, the primary platform utilized by third-party merchants, is marketed as a “all-in-one, generative-AI based selling expert.”
The development of Amelia is part of Amazon’s continuous attempts to leverage the potential of generative AI throughout its many business processes. Over the last year, Amazon has released other AI-powered products such as Rufus, an AI shopping assistant, and Q, a chatbot for corporate services. They also launched Bedrock, a generative AI solution for cloud users. Amazon has also been working on AI advancements for Alexa, the company’s speech assistant. These achievements reflect Amazon’s growing commitment in AI, including major financial backing for Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI.
During a recent earnings call, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stressed the importance of artificial intelligence, describing it as a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity. He linked AI’s promise to the transformative power of cloud computing and the internet, emphasizing Amazon’s commitment to expanding its AI capabilities.
Amelia is likely to tackle a long-standing issue for third-party sellers: account problems. Sellers regularly face account bans, missing merchandise, and other operational difficulties. Resolving these issues has frequently been delayed, with sellers finding it difficult to contact assistance or receive a prompt answer. Amelia is intended to automate much of this process, resulting in faster resolutions and, in certain situations, managing issues entirely on behalf of the seller. For example, instead of filling out a form for missing items, vendors may utilize Amelia to make claims or perhaps resolve the problem automatically.
According to Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s VP of Worldwide Selling Partner Services, Amelia can assist merchants in investigating account issues and perhaps resolving them in the future. Amelia’s use of generative AI might eliminate the requirement for human help, allowing vendors to receive faster answers without calling customer care. Mehta also stated that more than 400,000 vendors are already utilizing Amazon’s AI technologies, indicating a considerable surge in usage.
Amelia employs Bedrock, Amazon’s AI platform that provides access to large language models from other AI companies such as Anthropic and Stability AI. The system is intended to retrieve specific information from Amazon’s internal systems, such as account details, without storing or utilizing seller-specific data for model training. Instead, Amelia is taught using publicly available data, FAQs, and Amazon-provided resources.
Amazon’s continuous investment in AI underscores its commitment to enhancing the experience for third-party sellers, who account for a sizable amount of the company’s e-commerce operation. Sellers make up more than half of all items sold on the marketplace, with 61% in the second quarter of this year. Amelia is expected to help Amazon maintain its competitive advantage in the rapidly expanding AI business, which is estimated to generate more than $1 trillion in sales in the coming years.
Source: The article is based on an original report by Annie Palmer and Hayden Field on CNBC, published on September 19, 2024. You can check out the full article here.
I’m Voss Xolani, and I’m deeply passionate about exploring AI software and tools. From cutting-edge machine learning platforms to powerful automation systems, I’m always on the lookout for the latest innovations that push the boundaries of what AI can do. I love experimenting with new AI tools, discovering how they can improve efficiency and open up new possibilities. With a keen eye for software that’s shaping the future, I’m excited to share with you the tools that are transforming industries and everyday life.