Amazon’s love affair with artificial intelligence just got a little deeper. In an attempt to make the lives of third-party sellers a lot easier (and keep itself ahead in the AI race), Amazon recently introduced Amelia, a generative AI tool that promises to streamline account management and data retrieval for sellers on its platform. If you’re tired of filling out forms or waiting for someone to answer your support email, keep reading—this AI might be your new best friend.
What Exactly Is Amelia?
Amelia is designed to help third-party sellers resolve issues with their Amazon accounts and pull up sales and inventory data in a flash. Sounds simple, but anyone who’s dealt with account suspensions or inventory discrepancies knows how much time and energy these issues can drain. Amelia takes over that load and, eventually, might even solve problems automatically.
Dharmesh Mehta, Amazon’s VP of worldwide selling partner services, put it best: “Instead of chatting with seller support or waiting for a response via email, Amelia will step in, making resolutions faster and less of a headache.” The goal? Fewer seller migraines and a much faster troubleshooting process.
Why Should Sellers Care About Amelia?
If you’ve ever sold on Amazon, you know how frustrating account issues can be. Sellers have often voiced concerns about delays when seeking support or dealing with problems like missing inventory. It’s a familiar story: You find an issue, send an email, wait for a response, and in the meantime, your inventory or account issue might be costing you sales.
Amelia, however, aims to turn this narrative around. By stepping in to investigate account issues, and potentially even solving problems on behalf of the seller, the AI hopes to save time and keep things moving. For example, if you’ve got missing inventory, Amelia can file a claim for you. Eventually, it could even resolve the issue entirely on its own.
The tool is currently available in beta for select U.S. sellers, but if all goes well, it will roll out to more sellers before the end of the year. So, no, it’s not another “one day” tool—Amelia is very much here, now.
Part of Amazon’s Bigger AI Picture
Amelia isn’t Amazon’s first foray into AI for sellers—far from it. The tech giant has already launched several AI tools designed to help merchants succeed on its platform. These include AI-powered listing generators and even tools to help merchants create photo ads. If you’ve noticed AI summaries on product reviews, that’s another Amazon AI creation at work.
The real deal here, though, is that Amazon’s aiming to keep itself ahead of the curve in the generative AI race. Sure, Microsoft and Google are rolling out their own AI tools, but Amazon sees its investments in AI as crucial to staying competitive. CEO Andy Jassy has made it clear that the potential for generative AI is massive—think “cloud-sized” or even “internet-sized” potential.
What’s Next for Amelia and Amazon’s AI Tools?
Amazon is continuously expanding its AI toolset for sellers. Amelia is part of a larger ecosystem of generative AI tools that help sellers write product listings, create video ads, and even show personalized recommendations based on user behavior. It’s all part of Amazon’s broader strategy to ensure its platform remains as seller-friendly (and efficient) as possible.
At the 2024 annual seller conference in Seattle, Amazon also announced new tools for creating AI-generated video ads and bulk product listings. These are meant to help merchants save time and create better, more personalized shopping experiences for customers.
Sellers should keep an eye on these developments—because with over 400,000 sellers already using AI tools for product listings, the AI trend isn’t slowing down. In fact, Mehta expects this number to continue climbing.
The Competitive Landscape
Let’s not ignore the elephant in the room: Amazon’s competitors. Google and Microsoft have both made strides in AI development, and Amazon’s move with Amelia is a clear response. Both companies are racing to secure their places in the growing generative AI market, predicted to reach over $1 trillion in revenue in the next decade.
But Amazon’s not just relying on in-house development. The company has also invested heavily in Anthropic, a competitor to OpenAI, which has developed AI tools like ChatGPT. This marks one of Amazon’s biggest venture deals to date, and it’s a signal of how seriously Amazon is taking the AI revolution.
Why AI Tools Matter for Sellers
Third-party sellers are a critical part of Amazon’s success. Since 2017, they’ve made up more than half of the platform’s sales, and that number is now at a whopping 61%. If AI tools like Amelia can make life easier for these sellers, it’s not just the sellers who win—Amazon does too.
By reducing friction and streamlining support, Amazon can keep its massive ecosystem of third-party sellers happy, which in turn keeps shoppers on the platform. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. Sellers get more time to focus on growing their business rather than battling account issues, and Amazon continues to dominate the e-commerce world.
Wrapping Up: Will Amelia Save the Day?
Amazon’s new AI assistant Amelia is a big deal for third-party sellers. With the potential to automate problem-solving and streamline access to data, Amelia could be the key to less stress and more success for merchants.
While it’s still in beta, the tool is part of Amazon’s broader AI push, and sellers should expect to see more AI tools popping up in the future. The combination of Amelia’s troubleshooting abilities with Amazon’s existing AI-powered tools for product listings and ads gives sellers a lot to look forward to.
And let’s be honest—anything that cuts down on seller headaches is worth paying attention to.
Call to Action: Ready to Boost Your Seller Game?
If you’re a third-party seller on Amazon, it’s time to start exploring Amelia and other AI tools to see how they can make your life easier. Keep an eye on Amazon’s announcements for when these tools will be available to more sellers later this year. Your future self will thank you!
