Amazon Unveils AI Agent for Online Shopping and Automation

 

 

 

Amazon has released a new AI model that can take actions in a web browser on a user’s behalf. This new tool, called Nova Act, will compete with other agentic AI tools launched by the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic.

The new model, called Nova Act, is designed to help developers build agents, or AI software that can complete multi-step tasks for users without supervision. Amazon showed Nova Act searching for “apartments by biking distance to the train station” as one example of a task it can complete.

Now available as a research preview, the Nova Act SDK allows developers to create AI agents that can handle various tasks, from submitting leave requests to playing video games or even apartment hunting. While AI can manage simple tasks, Amazon acknowledges that complex, multi-step processes still require human supervision. Nova Act SDK helps by breaking down these workflows into smaller, more manageable actions.

For example, Amazon engineer Vishal Vora demonstrated an agent that automatically orders a salad from Sweetgreen every Tuesday night. Once set up, the AI adds the preferred salad to the cart, selects delivery, includes a tip, and completes the payment—all without user input.

Amazon envisions a future where AI agents can handle complex tasks like planning weddings or managing IT operations, significantly boosting productivity.