Amazon’s latest earnings call revealed a clear message: AI in retail is no longer an experiment. It’s becoming the operating system of global commerce.
CEO Andy Jassy outlined a future in which the remaining 80 – 85% of retail sales that still happen in physical stores will steadily move online, driven by intelligent, agentic shopping systems. Amazon’s AI-powered assistant “Rufus” has already reached 250 million active customers, growing usage and interactions by more than 140% year-over-year.
If that trajectory continues, the shift from browsing to AI-guided shopping could happen far faster than most retailers expect.
TL;DR
- AI in retail is redefining shopping, led by Amazon’s Rufus assistant.
- CEO Andy Jassy predicts the majority of retail will move online, accelerated by AI.
- The “human-guided” advantage of physical stores is fading as agentic systems improve.
- Retailers should start integrating AI agents across discovery, recommendation, and checkout.
AI in Retail: Amazon’s Acceleration
The scale of Rufus’s adoption is staggering. With 250 million active users and 210% growth in interactions, AI-driven discovery is now a mainstream shopping behavior.
Rufus uses conversational AI trained on billions of product interactions to help users “shop by intention,” not by search term; asking natural questions and receiving dynamic, contextual recommendations.
Jassy highlighted that the tool is on track to generate more than $10 billion in incremental annualized sales, signaling that AI is now directly tied to revenue, not just convenience.
AI in Retail and the End of Traditional Discovery
Jassy’s most striking prediction is that AI will replicate and surpass the in-store human experience. The intuitive, guided discovery that used to be a human advantage is becoming software-driven.
The next wave of online shopping will be “agentic commerce”: systems that anticipate needs, curate products, and act on behalf of customers.
This means customers will soon be able to say things like, “Plan my living room update under $1,000,” and see an entire cart generated instantly, complete with personalized options and delivery dates.
Retailers who continue to rely solely on static search, category browsing, and traditional merchandising will struggle to keep up with the speed and personalization of agentic AI.
AI in Retail: The New Role of the Salesperson
The shift raises a fundamental question: what happens to human salesmanship in a world of AI-guided commerce?
Physical stores once held an edge in discovery: the ability to guide, recommend, and personalize based on subtle cues. But as AI systems grow better at understanding context, tone, and history, that edge is narrowing.
Harvard Business Review has observed that “AI-assisted retail creates new forms of trust and intimacy between brands and consumers” that mirror the human experience, but at scale (Harvard Business Review).
For retailers, the answer is not to compete against AI, but to train, deploy, and integrate AI agents alongside staff. Human expertise combined with AI’s predictive capabilities could deliver hybrid experiences that outperform either alone.
AI in Retail and the Next Decade
The transformation may appear gradual in quarterly earnings, but it’s exponential in historical perspective.
What Amazon is describing is not just a shift in tools, but a full reconfiguration of the retail value chain – from inventory and fulfillment to marketing and discovery. Amazon’s integration of AI across the shopping journey is compressing the entire retail funnel into a single interface.
For business leaders, this means rethinking how customer journeys are designed, how loyalty is built, and who controls the decision process. AI will increasingly act as both advisor and gatekeeper, shaping not just what consumers see, but what they choose.
FAQs
What is Rufus?
Rufus is Amazon’s AI-powered shopping assistant that lets users chat, browse, and buy directly through conversational prompts.
What does agentic commerce mean?
It refers to AI systems that act autonomously on behalf of customers: anticipating needs, curating items, and completing purchases.
Will AI replace human salespeople?
Not entirely. It will shift their role from product recommendation to relationship management and experience design.
How can retailers prepare for this change?
By investing in AI-driven discovery tools, training staff in AI collaboration, and prioritizing transparency in recommendations.
Conclusion
AI in retail isn’t just enhancing online shopping, it’s redefining it. Amazon’s latest earnings call shows that the future of shopping will be conversational, personalized, and predictive.
The retailers who act now – integrating AI agents into discovery, checkout, and customer care – will lead the next era of commerce. Those who wait may find that the human advantage in sales has already shifted to code.
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