E-commerce

Amazon launches Lens Live, an AI tool for real-time shopping

Ken Metral

03 Sep 2025 — 2 min read

Credit: Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon is deepening its investment in artificial intelligence with the launch of Lens Live, a new real-time visual search feature for its shopping app. Announced Tuesday, Lens Live builds on Amazon Lens — the company’s existing image-based product discovery tool — by allowing customers to instantly identify and shop items they see in the physical world.

Similar to Google Lens and Pinterest Lens, the feature lets shoppers point their smartphone camera at any object to receive instant product matches in a swipeable carousel at the bottom of the screen. From there, users can add items directly to their shopping cart with a tap on the (+) button, or save them to their wish list with the heart icon.

Not Replacing Amazon Lens, But Expanding It

Amazon Lens already allows customers to take photos, upload images, or scan barcodes to discover products. Lens Live doesn’t replace that functionality — instead, it adds a real-time component to the shopping experience. This move also taps into consumer behavior Amazon has long observed: shoppers comparing prices and availability on Amazon while browsing items in physical retail stores.

AI at the Core

The new tool is powered by Amazon SageMaker, which enables large-scale deployment of machine learning models, and runs on AWS-managed Amazon OpenSearch. Crucially, Lens Live also integrates with Rufus, Amazon’s AI shopping assistant. This means customers can access AI-generated product summaries, suggested questions, and deeper insights before purchasing.

Amazon has been steadily layering AI across its retail ecosystem. Over the past year, it has introduced features like AI-powered shopping guides, personalized prompts, enhanced product reviews, clothing fit tools, audio product summaries, and merchant-facing AI tools. Together, these enhancements illustrate Amazon’s strategy of weaving AI into nearly every aspect of its marketplace.

Availability

Lens Live is launching first on the Amazon Shopping app for iOS, rolling out to tens of millions of U.S. shoppers. The company has not yet confirmed plans for Android or international markets.

With Lens Live, Amazon is positioning itself not only as a marketplace but as an AI-powered discovery engine, aiming to meet customers wherever they are — whether browsing online, scrolling on their phones, or walking through a store aisle.

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