Amazon has entered the AI assistant race with an innovative new tool called Nova Act.
This intelligent shopping assistant works directly in your web browser to simplify your online shopping experience.
While currently limited to developers in a “research preview,” Nova Act represents Amazon’s vision for the future of AI-powered shopping assistance.
What is Nova Act?
Nova Act is an advanced AI model created by Amazon’s Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) Labs.
It functions similarly to OpenAI’s Operator agent but with Amazon’s unique approach to AI assistance.
It’s designed to handle complex online tasks with minimal human supervision, particularly focusing on shopping and web-based activities.
Key Features of Nova Act
- Web Searching: Can search across websites to find products or information.
- Autonomous Purchasing: Capable of completing purchases on your behalf.
- Context-Aware Assistance: Answers questions about what’s on your screen.
- Detailed Instruction Following: Understands specific directions like “don’t accept the insurance upsell”.
- Scheduled Tasks: Can perform activities at predetermined times.
- Alexa Integration: Some features already work within the upgraded Alexa Plus assistant.
Part of Amazon’s AI Ecosystem
Nova Act is just one component of Amazon’s broader AI strategy. It joins five other Nova models announced in December 2024:
- Three “understanding” models for processing text and information
- Image and video generators for content creation
Amazon emphasizes the efficiency and affordability of these models, claiming they’re “at least 75 percent less expensive” than comparable AI systems from competitors.
Accessing Amazon’s AI Tools
Amazon has now created a nova dedicated website for US users to access these AI models directly.
Previously, they were only available through Amazon Bedrock, a technical platform within Amazon Web Services.
This new portal makes testing and using Amazon’s AI models much more accessible for developers and potentially regular users in the future.
The Future of AI Shopping
As companies like Amazon and OpenAI develop increasingly capable AI assistants, we’re moving toward a world where technology doesn’t just help us find products but completes the entire shopping process for us.
Nova Act represents an important step in this evolution of AI from information provider to active task performer.
For those interested in the cutting edge of AI shopping assistance, Nova Act is definitely a technology to watch as it moves from developer preview to wider availability.