In the first edition of our 2026 #AskVector series, we are answering the question that has come up more than any other in recent client conversations: how are shoppers actually finding products on Amazon now, and what does it mean for brands?

The short answer is that the discovery journey is changing in a fundamental way. Shoppers are no longer just searching. They are asking questions.

The shift from searching to questioning

For most of Amazon's history, product discovery has worked through keywords. A shopper types a phrase into the search bar, a ranked list of results appears, and they scroll, click and compare. That model is not disappearing, but it is being joined by something different.

Amazon Prompts are AI-powered, conversational experiences built into the Amazon shopping interface to help shoppers discover products without typing traditional keyword queries. Instead of entering "vitamin D supplement", a shopper might ask "what's a good vitamin D supplement for someone who doesn't like swallowing large tablets?" The response is generated dynamically, drawing on Amazon's product data and the shopper's context.

This is a meaningful shift. The language shoppers use in conversational queries is richer, more specific and more revealing of actual intent than keyword searches. And the products that appear in those responses are determined by different factors than those that govern standard search ranking.

Where Amazon Prompts appear

Amazon Prompts appear inside the Amazon shopping experience at high-intent decision moments, the points in a browsing journey where a shopper is actively comparing options or trying to resolve a specific question before purchasing. The format is currently mobile-first, with desktop availability coming later in 2026.

The mobile-first rollout is strategically significant. Most of Amazon's traffic is mobile, and the conversational interface maps naturally onto how people use their phones. Asking a question by voice or in a chat-style input is a more comfortable interaction on a phone screen than it is on a desktop keyboard.

Meet Rufus

Rufus is Amazon's generative AI-powered shopping assistant, and it is the engine behind much of this shift. Rufus is trained on Amazon's product catalogue, customer reviews and web data, giving it the ability to answer nuanced product questions in a way that goes beyond simple search results.

Rufus helps shoppers compare brands, evaluate features, understand the differences between products and make faster, more confident purchasing decisions. From a shopper's perspective, it functions like having a knowledgeable friend available at the point of purchase. From a brand's perspective, it introduces a new layer in the discovery journey that requires a different kind of optimisation.

Rufus prompt data is now available

The development that changes the practical picture for advertisers is this: Rufus prompt data is now accessible through Sponsored Products reporting.

For the first time, brands and their agencies can see prompt-level impressions, clicks tied to specific questions, and engagement signals from Rufus interactions. This is not simply a new reporting dimension. It is a direct window into how shoppers are thinking about a product category: the language they use, the questions they are asking, the comparisons they are trying to make.

That kind of insight has historically been very difficult to obtain. Survey data and focus groups give you curated, retrospective answers. Rufus prompt data gives you the actual questions real shoppers are typing in real purchase contexts, at scale.

This is more than reporting

The implications extend well beyond campaign measurement. Prompt-level data gives brands direct visibility into shopper intent and decision-making language that can inform product listing optimisation, content strategy and advertising copy.

The next generation of Amazon optimisation is not built around keywords. It is built around answers. Brands that understand what questions their target customers are asking, and that structure their product content to answer those questions clearly, will have a material advantage in how they are surfaced by Rufus and Amazon Prompts.

How Vector is helping brands prepare

At Vector, we are already working with brand partners to apply these insights practically. That means optimising product detail pages for AI discovery, ensuring that the content in titles, bullet points and A+ sections speaks to the questions shoppers are actually asking rather than simply targeting high-volume keywords. 

It means aligning ad strategy with the conversational queries driving Rufus impressions. And it means turning the prompt data now available through Sponsored Products reporting into a performance strategy that reflects how discovery actually works in 2026.

The future of Amazon is conversational. The brands that adapt to that shift now will be the ones with the strongest position as it accelerates.

Want to understand how to optimise your brand for AI-powered discovery on Amazon? Talk to the Vector Retail Media team.

"For the first time, brands and their agencies can see prompt-level impressions, clicks tied to specific questions, and engagement signals from Rufus interactions. This is not simply a new reporting dimension. It is a direct window into how shoppers are thinking about a product category: the language they use, the questions they are asking, the comparisons they are trying to make."