Amazon aims to roll out Rufus to at least 13 international marketplaces this year, with plans to increase the number of products eligible for Rufus's features significantly. Despite some skepticism about the DSI metric's accuracy, Amazon's retail CEO Doug Herrington supports Rufus, emphasizing AI-driven personalization as a major focus area. Rufus's expansion and improvements are part of Amazon's broader strategy to enhance the shopping experience and compete with other retailers like Walmart and Target, which are also developing AI-powered search apps.
Key takeaways:
- Amazon's AI shopping assistant Rufus is projected to indirectly contribute over $700 million in operating profits this year through increased consumer spending.
- Rufus is expected to reach $1.2 billion in downstream impact (DSI) profit contributions by 2027, despite losing an estimated $285 million in 2024.
- Amazon plans to expand Rufus globally and enhance its AI model, Shopping LLM, to improve service quality and personalization.
- Despite mixed reviews and questions about the DSI metric's accuracy, Amazon remains committed to AI-driven personalization as a major focus area.