How to Text Alexa to Shop on Amazon: Invite, RCS Setup, Features and Catches

You can now shop on Amazon by sending a text. On 6 November 2026, Amazon started letting invited US customers message Alexa for Shopping, its AI shopping agent, to search, compare and buy without opening the app.

The new contact shows up on your phone as “Alexa Shopping”. You can text it a list, a photo of an outfit or a target price, and it replies with options or places the order with your approval.

This guide explains who can get it, how to join the waitlist, what you need on your phone, every feature, example messages, the ads and auto-buy catch, how to spot fake invites, and how it compares with other text-based AI agents.

What Is Alexa for Shopping by Text?

Alexa for Shopping is the AI assistant Amazon launched on 13 May 2026. It replaced the old Rufus chatbot and merged it with Alexa+, so you can ask shopping questions right in the Amazon search bar.

Texting is a new door into the same agent. Instead of opening the Amazon app, you message the “Alexa Shopping” contact like you would a friend.

“Now with Alexa for Shopping, your personal shopping agent is just a text away,” said Rajiv Mehta, Amazon’s vice president of Conversational Shopping.

Key facts at a glance

Who Can Use It and What It Costs

Right now only invited US customers can text Alexa. Amazon is sending invitations by text message, and says it will expand to millions more people over the coming weeks.

• Outside the US: not available, and Amazon has given no date for other countries.
• Prime: Alexa for Shopping does not need a Prime membership or an Echo device, per Amazon’s May launch. Normal Prime delivery perks still depend on your plan.
• Cost: Amazon has not mentioned any fee for texting. Standard carrier messaging rates may apply on your plan.

Note: Signing up for the waitlist also opts you in to Amazon news and offers by text, according to Amazon’s own announcement.

Phone Requirements (RCS)

Texting Alexa uses RCS (Rich Communication Services), the modern texting standard that supports photos, cards and buttons. Amazon’s shopping page, as quoted by DEV Community, lists these requirements:

How to check RCS is on

• Android (Google Messages): tap your profile picture, then Messages settings > RCS chats, and check the status says Connected.
• iPhone (iOS 18+): open Settings > Apps > Messages > RCS Messaging and make sure it is on. If you do not see it, your carrier may not support RCS yet.

How to Start Texting Alexa

These steps follow Amazon’s announcement. The whole setup happens on your phone once the invite arrives.

1. Join the waitlist (if you have no invite). Type amazon.com/text-alexa-shopping into your browser yourself and sign in.
2. Wait for the invitation text. Selected customers get a message asking them to turn the feature on.
3. Accept the terms. Read what you agree to, especially around auto-buy and messages.
4. Link your phone number to your Amazon account if it is not already verified.
5. Save the contact. It appears as “Alexa Shopping”. Pin the thread so you can find it fast.
6. Send your first message. Start simple: “Where’s my package?” or “Reorder my usual coffee.”
7. Tell it your preferences. For example “organic only” or “I like Nike running shoes”. Amazon says it remembers them.

Tip: Before your first real order, open Your Account on Amazon and check your default address and payment method. The agent will use those.

Everything You Can Do by Text

Amazon lists a long set of jobs. Here they are grouped so you can scan them.

Find and buy

• Search and compare products using reviews and prices.
• Build a cart and complete the purchase when you are ready.
• Several tasks in one message: dog food, a birthday gift and paper towels together.
• Visual search: send a photo of an outfit or item to find similar products.
• Recipes: send a recipe photo and it adds the ingredients to your cart.
• Other stores: it can surface products from shops across the web through Amazon’s Shop Direct.

Groceries and reorders

• Weekly grocery orders and last-minute same-day requests.
• Reorder past purchases, with your approval.
• Preferences such as vegan-only or organic-only, and nutrition info on request.

Deals and tracking

• Price targets: it texts you, or buys, when an item hits your price.
• Price history of up to one year.
• Price-drop and new-release alerts from Amazon and the wider web.
• Order status and delivery updates.
• Lists, registries and subscriptions management.

10 Messages to Try

Several of these come straight from Amazon’s examples. Send them as normal texts:

1. “Where’s my package?”
2. “Add broccoli to my last order.”
3. “Let me know when AirPods go on sale.”
4. “Update me when Nike drops new running shoes.”
5. “Compare the top-rated robot vacuums.”
6. “What’s the price history on this Kindle?”
7. “Reorder dog food, find a birthday gift for a 10-year-old, and add paper towels.”
8. [Photo of a jacket] “Find something like this under $80.”
9. [Photo of a recipe] “Add what I need for this to my cart.”
10. “Only show me organic options from now on.”

Price Targets, Auto-Buy and Approvals

This is the part to understand before you rely on it. Alexa for Shopping can make purchases in two ways:

• With your approval: it suggests items, adds them to the cart, and buys when you say yes. Reorders work this way.
• Automatically at a price target: you set a target price, and it can buy on its own when the price is reached.

Warning: An auto-buy is a real order on your card. Keep track of the targets you set, and check Your Orders on Amazon regularly. Normal Amazon cancellation and return rules apply.

Amazon has not published spending caps or a way to limit the agent to a budget. Until it does, set targets only for items you would happily buy today.

Ads in Your Text Thread

The Next Web reports that sponsored products can appear among the options the agent sends you. Amazon is not charging advertisers for these placements yet.

According to Digiday, as cited by The Next Web, purchases the agent completes on its own carry no ads. For context, Amazon made more than $68 billion from advertising in 2025.

In practice, when the agent sends a list, ask “which of these are sponsored?” or “show me the top-rated one, not ads” before you choose.

How to Spot a Fake Invite

Amazon is sending the invitations by text, and scammers love copying Amazon texts. Protect yourself with a few rules:

• Do not tap links in an unexpected invite. Type amazon.com/text-alexa-shopping into your browser yourself.
• Never share passwords or one-time codes in a text thread, whoever asks.
• Check the request: a real shopping agent has no reason to ask for your card number in chat, since it uses your saved Amazon payment.
• Report fakes: forward suspicious texts to 7726 (SPAM) in the US and report them to Amazon.

Note: Amazon has not published how to opt out of the texting feature. Many US text programs accept a “STOP” reply, but check Amazon’s terms in the invite before relying on that.

Why Amazon Is Doing This (the Muse Fight)

Timing matters here. On 21 September 2026, Amazon blocked Meta’s Muse agent from shopping on Amazon.com for its users.

Amazon said Muse did not identify itself as an agent when buying, which its terms require, and objected to it moving through customer account pages. Amazon added that outside shopping agents should “operate openly”.

Texting Alexa gives Amazon its own answer to text-based agents like Muse, just before the holiday rush. CEO Andy Jassy said in the days before the launch that he expects Alexa for Shopping to become the main agent people use to buy from Amazon.

If you want to control which AI bots can read your own site, see my guide to blocking AI crawlers in robots.txt.

Alexa Text vs Other Text Shopping Agents

Sources: Amazon newsroom; TechCrunch and SiliconANGLE (Muse block); The Next Web and GeekWire via TNW (Dots and DoorDash texting); FindSkill (Dots plans).

DoorDash said in October that third-party AI agents had placed only several hundred orders on its platform, which is why it is backing its own text agent. Retailers clearly want shoppers inside their own assistants.

Troubleshooting

I joined the waitlist but got no invite

Invites go out in waves to a subset of US customers. There is nothing to speed it up; keep your mobile number verified on your Amazon account.

My messages do not show photos or buttons

RCS is probably off or unsupported. Check RCS chats in Google Messages, or RCS Messaging on iOS 18+, and confirm your carrier supports it.

I am on Google Fi with an iPhone

Amazon lists Google Fi on iPhone as not supported yet. You will need to wait or use the Amazon app’s search bar version of Alexa for Shopping.

The conversation is not in my Amazon app

Amazon says carrying text conversations over to the app, website and Echo devices is still rolling out, so it may not work on every account yet.

It ordered something I did not expect

Check whether you set a price target earlier. Then cancel the order from Your Orders if it has not shipped, or start a normal return.

My Take

Texting is a smart move. Most people already live in their messages app, and “reorder the dog food” is easier to text than to tap through an app. The photo-to-product and one-year price history features are genuinely handy.

Two things give me pause. Auto-buy at a price target is powerful but has no published spending cap, and sponsored items inside a “personal” agent’s answers blur the line between advice and ads.

If you get an invite, start with tracking and alerts, keep purchases on approval, and only use auto-buy for small, regular items. I will update this guide when Amazon opens it wider or adds controls. For more AI assistants that remember your preferences, see my ChatGPT memory guide.

FAQ

Can I text Alexa to buy things on Amazon?

Yes, if you are an invited US customer. Since 6 November 2026, Alexa for Shopping can search, compare and buy by text, with wider rollout promised in the coming weeks.

How do I get access to Alexa text shopping?

Wait for an invitation text, or join the waitlist at amazon.com/text-alexa-shopping. Then accept the terms and link your phone number.

Is texting Alexa free?

Amazon has not announced any fee, and Alexa for Shopping does not need Prime. Your carrier’s normal messaging terms still apply.

What number do I text Alexa on?

Amazon has not published a public number. After you accept the invite, a contact named “Alexa Shopping” appears in your messages.

Does it work on iPhone?

Yes, on iOS 18 or later with RCS Messaging on and a carrier that supports RCS. Google Fi on iPhone is not supported yet.

Can Alexa buy things without asking me?

Only if you set a price target and allow it to buy when the price is reached. Reorders and normal purchases need your approval.

Is Alexa text shopping available in the UK or India?

No. It is limited to US customers for now, and Amazon has not given a date for other countries.

Are the product suggestions ads?

Some can be. Sponsored products may appear among the options, though Amazon is not charging advertisers for them yet.

Sources

• Amazon newsroom: “Text, shop, done: Alexa for Shopping is now just a text away” (6 Nov 2026)
• TechCrunch: “After blocking Muse, Amazon now lets users text Alexa to help them shop” (6 Nov 2026)
• The Next Web: “Amazon’s Alexa for Shopping agent will now take your orders by text” (6 Nov 2026)
• DEV Community: requirements quoted from Amazon’s shopping page (RCS, iOS 18, Google Fi)
• Cord Cutters News: Alexa text shopping examples and usage figures
• EcomCrew: Amazon retires Rufus, launches Alexa for Shopping (May 2026)
• SiliconANGLE: Amazon blocks Meta’s Muse agent (21 Sep 2026)
• FindSkill: OpenAI Dots plans and regions