Amazon has just taken a big step forward in how it supports its army of independent sellers. Its Seller Assistant tool, once limited to advice, suggestions, and Q&A &, is now endowed with “agentic capabilities.” That means the AI can now perform certain tasks on behalf of third-party merchants, provided the seller grants permission.
What’s New & Why It’s a Big Deal
Powered by Amazon Bedrock and models like Amazon Nova and Claude from Anthropic, the enhanced Seller Assistant can do more than react: it can anticipate sellers’ needs, plan, and actually act when authorized.
Some examples of what it can now handle:
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Monitor account health and step in to address issues that might lead to account suspensions.
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Manage inventory proactively by ordering, restocking, and forecasting.
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Help structure growth plans and even coordinate advertising campaigns.
An Amazon spokesperson put it this way: “AI to not just respond, but to reason, plan, and help take action with a seller’s permission.”
For many sellers, especially smaller ones, the burden of the day-to-day operations, inventory snafus, compliance issues, and account problems can be crushing. This change potentially means shifting that weight to AI, letting human sellers focus more on product innovation, branding, and building relationships with customers.
Background matters. Amazon first launched a generative version of the Seller Assistant last year (formerly called Project Amelia), which could answer questions and provide guidance. Over time, sellers asked for more: “Could it do more than suggest? Could it act?” This upgrade seems to be the answer.
Amazon is not planning to charge for this enhanced Seller Assistant, at least not for now. It says it will roll out more agentic features based on seller feedback.
Implications & Risks
This is good news for many sellers: tasks that used to eat up hours or risk slipping through the cracks now can be semi-automated. It could reduce costly mistakes (like suspension due to health or policy violations), improve efficiency in inventory management, and free up human attention for higher-value work.
On the flip side, there are risks: entrusting AI to act means trusting its judgments, and mistakes could be costly. Sellers will need to understand what permissions they’re giving, monitor AI actions, and have recourse if something goes wrong. There’s also the question of bias, model errors, or misaligned decisions when AI is given too much autonomy.
From Amazon’s side, how well these features scale globally, across different seller markets, and with varying regulatory or logistical constraints remains to be seen.
What to Watch Next
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How quickly are these agentic features made available outside the U.S. and for small sellers? Some early reports say rollout will be gradual.
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What kinds of permissions sellers must grant, and what limits they can set to avoid unwanted actions.
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Whether Amazon will introduce tiers or paid versions as the tool becomes more powerful.
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Feedback from sellers: do they trust the AI acting for them? Do they save time and money?
Amazon’s upgrade to Seller Assistant is a clear signal: passive AI is no longer enough. The new agentic version aims to be more like a partner, one that reasons, plans, and acts. For many third-party merchants, this could be transformative. But it’s not a switch you flip and forget; oversight and understanding remain essential. If Amazon nails it, sellers will be freed from operations and empowered to focus on what matters most: the product, the customer, and the growth.
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