Amazon has updated its Seller Assistant platform with new artificial intelligence capabilities designed to proactively manage inventory, compliance, and advertising for its third-party sellers. The enhanced tool, which now functions as an 'agentic AI,' can reason, plan, and execute tasks on a seller's behalf with their permission, moving beyond simple question-and-answer functions.
These new features are being introduced to support the more than 60% of sales on Amazon's platform that come from independent businesses. The tool aims to automate complex operational tasks, allowing sellers to focus on product development and business growth. The upgrade is currently available to U.S. sellers at no extra cost, with a global rollout planned for the coming months.
Key Takeaways
- Amazon's Seller Assistant now uses 'agentic AI' to perform tasks, not just provide information.
- New features include proactive inventory management, account health monitoring, and compliance checks.
- An AI-powered tool called Creative Studio helps sellers generate advertising content.
- The system is powered by Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Nova, and Anthropic's Claude models.
- The enhanced tools are available to U.S. sellers now and will be expanded globally.
From Passive Assistant to Active Partner
Amazon's previous version of Seller Assistant, introduced last year, functioned primarily as a generative AI-powered chatbot that answered seller queries. The latest update represents a significant shift towards a more autonomous system. The company states the goal is to transform the tool from a passive resource into an active partner for businesses operating on its platform.
The system is built on a combination of technologies, including Amazon Bedrock, Amazon Nova, and large language models from Anthropic, a company in which Amazon has invested heavily. This technological foundation allows the assistant to analyze data, anticipate seller needs, and propose strategic actions that it can then implement upon approval.
"I’ve been using Seller Assistant almost every day now, and it has become my own personal business consultant," said Alfred Mai, founder and CEO of ASM Games. "It knows how to support my business in Amazon’s store and provides me with the answers and actions that I need immediately."
This evolution means the AI can handle tasks ranging from routine operations to more complex strategic planning. By automating these processes, Amazon hopes to reduce the administrative burden on its sellers, who range from small home-based businesses to large international brands.
Core Capabilities of the Enhanced AI
The upgraded Seller Assistant introduces several new functions aimed at streamlining key aspects of running an e-commerce business. These capabilities are designed to be proactive, alerting sellers to opportunities and potential problems before they escalate.
Intelligent Inventory Management
One of the primary challenges for sellers is managing inventory effectively. The new AI system actively monitors stock levels to help optimize costs and prevent lost sales. It can identify slow-moving products and recommend actions such as price reductions or removal before long-term storage fees are incurred.
Furthermore, the tool analyzes historical sales data and current market trends to forecast demand. It can then generate detailed shipment plans, suggesting the optimal distribution of products between Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) centers and Amazon Warehousing and Distribution facilities to improve delivery speeds and reduce storage costs.
By the Numbers
Independent sellers are a major component of Amazon's e-commerce ecosystem, accounting for more than 60% of total sales in its online store. According to Amazon, these small and medium-sized businesses have collectively generated $2.5 trillion in sales over the platform's history.
Proactive Account Health and Compliance
The AI assistant continuously scans a seller's account for potential issues. This includes monitoring customer service metrics that are nearing warning thresholds or identifying product listings that might violate new safety regulations. This allows sellers to address problems before they negatively impact their account status or sales.
For example, if a product description unintentionally uses language that could classify it as a regulated item, like a pesticide, the AI will flag the listing. It then explains the regulatory concern and provides several options for resolving the issue, which it can implement with the seller's approval.
Navigating international compliance standards is another area the tool addresses. When a seller lists a new product, such as an electronic device, the system can automatically analyze the documentation and alert them to missing requirements, like specific UL certifications, guiding them through the necessary steps to meet compliance.
AI-Powered Advertising and Growth Strategy
Amazon is also integrating agentic AI into its advertising tools through a new feature called Creative Studio. This tool allows sellers to generate professional-quality ad concepts and videos using simple conversational prompts, significantly reducing the time and resources required for ad creation.
The system analyzes a seller's products and relevant shopping signals on Amazon to produce tailored ad concepts. The company provided a case study of a smart bird feeder seller who used the tool to create a Father's Day video ad. The results reportedly included:
- A 338% increase in ad click-through-rate compared to other video ads.
- 89% of resulting offers were from new-to-brand customers.
- A 121% return on advertising spend.
Strategic Business Planning
Beyond daily operations, the Seller Assistant is designed to offer strategic guidance for business growth. It can analyze sales patterns and customer behavior to suggest new product categories or variations that a seller might consider adding to their catalog.
The AI can also proactively develop comprehensive growth plans ahead of seasonal sales peaks like holidays. By analyzing historical data and current trends, it can prepare a ready-to-implement strategy that includes promotions, inventory adjustments, and marketing campaigns. Once a seller approves the plan, the assistant can coordinate its execution.
The Rise of Agentic AI
Agentic AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can not only process information and generate responses but also independently plan and execute a sequence of actions to achieve a specific goal. Unlike passive AI assistants that wait for commands, agentic systems can take initiative, reason about complex problems, and interact with digital environments to complete tasks, functioning more like an autonomous agent than a simple tool.
Amazon states that these features are just the beginning, with plans to further integrate the AI across the entire selling experience. The company's long-term vision is for the Seller Assistant to handle an increasing number of operational and strategic tasks, freeing up entrepreneurs to concentrate on product innovation and customer engagement.