Amazon launches 'Join the chat,' an AI-powered audio Q&A feature for product pages in its Shopping app

Amazon introduced 'Join the chat,' which lets customers ask questions about products and receive conversational audio responses generated in real time. The feature is part of a broader experience called 'Hear the highlights,' which offers short audio summaries on millions of product pages; 'Hear the highlights' began testing last May and is currently available in the U.S.

Customers access the feature by opening a product page in the Amazon Shopping app, tapping the 'Hear the highlights' button below the product image, then selecting the 'Join the chat' icon to ask questions via text or voice. The AI pulls together insights about product features, customer feedback, and other relevant information, and builds on previous responses to provide more relevant answers without repetition.

The feature is part of Amazon's broader AI-driven shopping tools, which also include Rufus (a generative AI assistant for product research and comparison), Interests (which tracks and surfaces new items aligned with a shopper's preferences), and 'Help me decide' (which suggests products based on searches, browsing, and shopping history).