Alexa for Shopping is a talkative new AI assistant equipped with some impressive features to encourage you to shop on Amazon.

      Digital Trends may receive a commission when you make a purchase through links on our website. Why should you trust us?

      Alexa now remembers your plans and transforms them into shopping lists.

      After years of using Alexa for answering questions, managing smart home devices, playing music, and assisting with daily tasks, Amazon has discovered a more evident role for it. Alexa is evolving into a personal shopping assistant, designed to help you quickly find what you need and add it to your cart with fewer hesitations.

      Amazon is introducing Alexa for Shopping to customers in the U.S. via the Amazon Shopping app, Amazon.com, and Echo Show devices. This feature combines the existing Rufus shopping chatbot with personalized Alexa+ capabilities, allowing the assistant to utilize product knowledge, shopping history, browsing habits, prior purchases, preferences, and past conversations to enhance recommendations. The service is free for signed-in Amazon customers and does not require a Prime membership, an Echo device, or the Alexa app.

      How beneficial could Amazon’s AI shopping assistant be?

      As an AI shopping assistant from the largest online retailer, it naturally aims to boost sales. However, Alexa for Shopping also provides genuinely useful features. It can compare products, display price history for up to a year, set price alerts, reorder necessary items, build shopping carts through conversation, schedule routine purchases, and suggest products based on your needs, preferences, and previous orders.

      For everyday shoppers, this feature could reduce the effort needed to find the right product or a better deal. For instance, if you’re selecting between two Kindles, Alexa can compare them side by side instead of requiring you to switch between product pages. If a laptop exceeds your budget, it can monitor the price and notify you when it drops within your range. If you regularly purchase the same cleaning products or snacks, it can add those to your cart via a simple prompt rather than requiring you to search for each item again.

      Where do smart shopping tools create spending momentum?

      Alexa for Shopping can maintain context across Amazon and Alexa-enabled devices. For example, if you talk with Alexa about a science-fair volcano project on your Echo device, later the Amazon app might recommend the supplies you need for that project. If you ask Alexa to remember your nephew's birthday, Alexa for Shopping can later suggest appropriate gifts that arrive on time.

      Essentially, Alexa for Shopping has the ability to recall your planned activities, connect them to Amazon’s inventory, and assist in turning an idea into a shopping cart without requiring you to restart the process. It is smart, convenient, and likely to encourage you to complete your purchase.

      I have about four years of experience, primarily focusing on gaming, PC hardware, and smartphones. In my leisure time, I enjoy...

      This transparent smart ring translates sign language and works almost like magic.

      For individuals who are hard of hearing, sign language serves as their primary means of communication. However, since sign language is not typically taught to those with normal hearing, a significant barrier arises. Recently, a group of researchers in South Korea may have discovered a surprisingly innovative solution to this longstanding issue.

      A study published in Science Advances introduces a system called WRSLT (wirelessly connected, ring-type sign language translator), which can recognize and translate both American Sign Language and International Sign Language with approximately 88% accuracy. Notably, it functions in real time.

      Read more.

      The Android Show 2026: Gemini Intelligence, Googlebook, Android 17 updates, and everything else.

      Gemini Intelligence, Googlebooks, Android 17, and a redesigned Android Auto. Google went all out at its pre-I/O presentation, with the main event still a week away.

      Every year, Google unveils its Android announcements at a separate pre-show leading up to its annual I/O conference. This year, the company did just that, and The Android Show: I/O Edition was more than a mere warm-up.

      Google arrived well-prepared, presenting an abundance of software updates and a surprising major hardware announcement. Let’s dive into everything, including a deeply integrated AI overhaul, a long-awaited security upgrade, a reimagined Android Auto experience that feels tailored for 2026, and the introduction of a brand-new laptop category.

      Google is reinventing the computer cursor, and its AI-powered future looks fascinating.

      Google’s Magic Pointer might be the next stage of AI evolution on laptops.

      The standard mouse pointer has seen little change in decades. It moves, clicks, selects, drags, and occasionally morphs into a spinning wheel of annoyance. Now, Google aims to enhance that small arrow into one of the most powerful AI tools on your laptop, which may sound absurd until you consider how frequently you utilize it.

      The company has announced Magic Pointer for Googlebook, its new category of Gemini-powered laptops. This feature grants the cursor AI capabilities, enabling it to comprehend what you are pointing at and assist you in taking action without necessitating a lengthy prompt or a separate chatbot window.

      Read more.