For brands, this introduces another layer of product discovery that could significantly impact how customers find your products. As Amazon continues to evolve its AI capabilities, it's crucial to stay ahead and adapt your strategy accordingly.
What is Amazon’s ‘Interests’ Feature?
Amazon is rolling out Interests, a powerful AI-driven feature that has the potential to reshape how shoppers find and engage with products in the app. Instead of relying on traditional keyword searches or category browsing, shoppers can enter a prompt, describing what they need in their own words, and Amazon’s large language models (LLMs) will generate personalized recommendations based on their intent.
How It Works:
- Shoppers open Interests in the Amazon Shopping App.
- Create new Interests by entering a detailed description of what they’re looking for.
- Amazon Interests will update the page with product recommendations that match their interests.
Currently in beta and available to a small number of U.S. customers in the app and mobile website, Interests will be rolling out to all U.S. customers in the next few months.
Brands and shoppers alike are already familiar with Rufus, Amazon’s generative AI shopping assistant. Trained on Amazon’s product catalog and information on the web, Rufus provides customers with answers to questions on shopping needs and products, makes recommendations and more. While it’s similar to Interests, based on what we know so far, there are some key differences:
- Location: Interests lives within the Amazon Shopping app, under a dedicated section, separate from the search bar or chat interface used by Rufus.
- Experience: Unlike Rufus, which provides real-time answers, Interests offers an evolving experience. Shoppers receive ongoing updates and product suggestions for each interest over time. Interests is a way to curate long-term shopping journeys around specific themes or needs.
For brands selling on Amazon, Interests is (another!) game-changer. Here’s why:
How ‘Interests’ Changes Product Discovery
Until now, Amazon search has been primarily transactional: shoppers enter specific product terms and browse the results. Interests introduces a more dynamic, conversational approach, allowing shoppers to describe what they’re looking for in natural, everyday language.
For example:
- Instead of searching for “running shoes,” a shopper might type, “I’m training for my first marathon and need supportive shoes that won’t hurt my feet.”
- Instead of searching for “skincare for dry skin,” they might write, “I am looking for skincare that works for my sensitive skin during the winter.”
Amazon’s AI will then surface products that best match these intent-driven queries, moving beyond traditional keyword optimization.
The Impact on Brand Visibility & Performance
For brands, this shift means that PDP optimization must evolve beyond keyword stuffing. Now more than ever, conversational and intent-based optimization will be key to gaining visibility. This includes:
- Using natural, shopper-friendly language in product titles, descriptions, and bullet points to align with how people talk and search.
- Incorporating intent-driven phrasing that directly addresses customer needs (“Best for sensitive skin” instead of just “Gentle formula”).
- Strengthening product detail pages (PDPs) with clear, informative content that aligns with the way AI understands and matches shopper queries.
- Prioritizing customer questions & reviews, since Amazon’s AI may pull insights from this content to refine recommendations.
Next Steps: How to Prepare Your PDPs for Amazon Interests
- Deep dive your own products and make sure you’re aware of the wide variety of intentions consumers may have for your products.
- Audit your product pages to ensure descriptions feel conversational and benefit-driven, rather than overly focused on keywords.
- Update product titles and bullet points to align with common shopper phrases, trending topics, hobbies, and real-world use cases.
- Leverage FAQs and Q&A sections to include relevant, intent-based language that Amazon’s AI can use to match queries.
- Monitor performance closely as Interests rolls out, tracking how PDP updates impact visibility and conversions.
The Bottom Line
Brands that tailor their PDPs to fit this AI-driven shopping experience will gain a competitive edge by increasing visibility and engagement. Optimizing for how shoppers naturally think and search isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s becoming essential as Amazon continues to refine its AI capabilities.
Don't have Interests in your Amazon app just yet? Here's some photos of the tool in action:
