Is Rufus undermining Amazon sellers?
We have seen a dramatic drop in sales and shopping cart abandonment. I might have found part of the problem.
When I go in as a consumer, once my product is in the shopping cart, Rufus asks if I want to see alternative options. This is terrible and defrauds sellers, like us, who spend thousands of dollars per month on PPC to get the consumer to put the product in the shopping cart. To divert consumers out of the shopping cart is mind-boggling business decision.
We have been a brand owner on Amazon for decades and I have never seen such an attempt by Amazon to undermine sellers.
Is Rufus undermining Amazon sellers?
We have seen a dramatic drop in sales and shopping cart abandonment. I might have found part of the problem.
When I go in as a consumer, once my product is in the shopping cart, Rufus asks if I want to see alternative options. This is terrible and defrauds sellers, like us, who spend thousands of dollars per month on PPC to get the consumer to put the product in the shopping cart. To divert consumers out of the shopping cart is mind-boggling business decision.
We have been a brand owner on Amazon for decades and I have never seen such an attempt by Amazon to undermine sellers.
26 replies
Seller_xo4Akj7FBBnfC
Our informal, non-scientific testing indicates that Rufus is just another tactic—along with intentionally faulty search results, the practice of flooding product pages with competitors' ads, and so on—all designed to divert buyers to cheaper overseas knockoffs.
We’d be genuinely interested to hear from any Seller who has found value in Rufus beyond that.
Our few products that lack a tightly controlled U.S. supply chain and meaningful barriers to entry are losing more sales to knockoffs. Our other products are down too, though to a lesser extent, mainly because of current economic conditions.
Seller_LVZcgxAgZ2xBv
It's better at identifiers. For instance, Amazon search can't handle ISBNs with dashes, but Rufus can.
OTOH Rufus states it's answers may be wrong, and it's slow.
I am also very concerned that Rufus will be gamed just as we've seen in the past with sellers using keyword stuffing, paid reviews, pricing tricks, and other slimy tactics to game Amazon's algorithms.
Seller_DBzTQPDCouH9d
Yes, I've noticed since that stupid Rufus appeared, sales have completely tanked. Coincidence? I think not.
Seller_zGoDlPZLneGhF
Amazon could care less about the referral fee they collect from sales. They want much more than that.
They want every single cent they can squeeze out of their sellers. To do that they must get buyers to click around, consider more choices, and flood their screen with as much PPC content as physically possible. Using Amazon as a consumer is a complete nightmare (so many extra screens during checkout, horrible UI, terrible search, etc)
Amazon does not care about any one seller (or any group of sellers from a certain country). Everything is designed to extract maximum revenue and confuse the consumer into clicking on more ads and sponsored products.
At the end of the day, Amazon wants to collect as much money as possible before, during, and after the sale is made. Amazon is solely out appease the shareholders.
To answer your question and conclude the rant, yes, Amazon does and will continue to undermine sellers to pad the bottomline.
Rufus is another tool used to bleed sellers dry and confuse the consumer further.
Seller_ToPPYvOWlyp9j
Ya'll's responses re: RUFUS may be the reason we've had a ton of cancellations in the last two moths, much more than usual.
Thought it might be the Microsoft Shopper-which reflects ABE/ E-Bay-though our copies are usually cheaper/better condition.
Stabbed in the back by AMAZON! Doesn't surprise me-but we spend not a dime on ads-either in the past/present/future.
Seller_9S5J1n2nbtQu4
I hear you on the frustration. Rufus is definitely creating challenges, but complaining won’t fix it; adapting will.
If you are selling on Amazon for the long term, there’s one reality you have to accept: Amazon changes the rules roughly every six months. I’ve felt the pain, frustration, urgency, and yes, I’ve lost money because of it. In my experience, the Amazon game is won by those who stay flexible and learn how to adapt to change at scale.
I learn to find new ways to reach customers.
What has worked for us is stepping away from relying solely on traditional listings. Instead, we expanded across the entire Amazon ecosystem.
We use Creator Connections to activate creators off‑site, driving awareness and demand before shoppers even reach a product page. At the same time, we use Logie.ai to create on‑site influencer content that appears across Amazon’s ecosystem, including Prime placements where shoppers see a "Commission Earned" badge instead of "Sponsored." As a result, many of our products now show up as Amazon‑recommended placements driven by commission‑based influencer content and Rufus recommendation - not just organic search or paid ads.
The key shift is simple: if Rufus is pulling shoppers away from your cart, you need to be present where Amazon is actively promoting products. Influencer content plays a direct role in AI recommendations by helping Amazon understand your product through real usage, context, and answers to shopper questions. Combined with solid listing fundamentals, creator partnerships unlock placements and touchpoints that traditional PPC alone cannot reach.
Rufus is clearly a strategic priority for Amazon. From what we see, Amazon is investing heavily in using this tool to better understand shoppers' intent, behavior, and decision-making process. That means Rufus will keep improving, making it easier for customers to discover, evaluate, and confidently buy the right products. Sellers who align early will benefit as this system matures.
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https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/machine-learning/scaling-rufus-the-amazon-generative-ai-powered-conversational-shopping-assistant-with-over-80000-aws-inferentia-and-aws-trainium-chips-for-prime-day/
Seller_9KIB0Ppc4ZTj7
[Moderator Edit: removed off-topic commentary]
Seller_4mcVCJvBL6iWQ
We have not noticed any change in sales. We have however gotten a 1-star review because someone said Rufus (which we of course have nothing to do with) lied to them about whether or not our beef was chopped/ground, or sliced steak-style, and blamed us for Rufus. Or maybe they think the 1-star review is a review of Rufus? Not sure. [moderator edit: removed external link]
Seller_LAhuiXJ4eMubd
Rufus was launched in the US back in July 2024 - you're just now noticing a drop in sales? A year and a half later?
I'm not saying you're wrong, but the timing seems off.
