Amazon on Wednesday unveiled a new virtual assistant for its B2B segment and outlined a forthcoming solution for industrial purchasing at a company event in Seattle.
The e-commerce and technology giant said at the Amazon Business Reshape conference that U.S. users of Amazon Business could begin using the new Amazon Business Assistant free of charge.
The AI assistant, powered by the company’s Amazon Bedrock service, provides “instant, interactive and easy-to-follow recommendations” for building and using an Amazon business account, the company said. In particular, the assistant can help users automate routine tasks, identify savings and make spending “easier and more efficient.”
The company also debuted a “Spend Anomaly Monitoring” tool, which can alert Amazon Business Prime Enterprise plan administrators about spending irregularities, and said that a new “Savings Insights” tool would be rolled out in the coming weeks.
In addition, Amazon Business, Amazon Web Services and Deloitte announced a pair of new solutions that will be available early next year: one, targeting manufacturers, aims to predict potential parts and inventory disruptions before they happen, while the other, for utilities, seeks to help improve grid reliability and resilience.
Amazon Business Vice President Shelley Salomon said in a statement that the segment’s AI-enhanced tools are “empowering organizations to reduce costs, make data-driven buying decisions, and get support when and where they need it.”
