Amazon launched a new AI-powered personal assistant for third-party vendors Thursday, one of many new features the company rolled out for its independent sellers this week.
The assistant, internally called Project Amelia, answers questions for sellers, offers advice and, down the line, will diagnose problems and take action.
Amazon has already integrated generative artificial intelligence into some services for sellers, like the ability to use AI to write suggested product listings, and has launched other AI-powered tools, including the shopping assistant Rufus and the chatbot Q. It is also reportedly working on an upgrade to its personal voice assistant Alexa, using AI to power a new, paid subscription service.
Project Amelia will run on Amazon Bedrock, an Amazon Web Services offering that provides different foundational learning models for companies, including Amazon itself, to build and scale AI-powered applications.
Amazon has been working on Project Amelia for more than a year, Dharmesh Mehta, vice president for selling partner services, said in an interview Wednesday with The Seattle Times. The project got its name because it was housed in the company’s Amelia building in South Lake Union. That building was named in honor of Amelia Earhart.