If you run Sponsored Products or Sponsored Brands in the US, some of your ad spend may now be going to ads you didn't write. They're called Sponsored Prompts, they've been billed per click since March 25, 2026, and your campaigns were enrolled automatically.
Alexa for Shopping, in one paragraph
In May 2026 Amazon merged Rufus, its shopping assistant, with Alexa+ into one experience called Alexa for Shopping. Shoppers can ask questions in the main search bar, compare products, see price history and build shopping guides. Your existing sponsored ads campaigns are automatically eligible to show inside those conversations.
What Sponsored Prompts are
A Sponsored Prompt is a short, AI-written question or answer about your product that appears with your ad, in shopping results and on product pages. Tapping it opens a conversation with Alexa for Shopping about your product. Amazon writes the prompts from your detail page, Brand Store and campaign data. You don't write them.
How you're billed
- Per click, under your existing Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands bids. There's no separate prompt bid.
- Automatic enrollment. Eligible US campaigns were opted in with no setup.
- Timeline: free beta from November 2025, generally available March 10, 2026, and billed from March 25, 2026.
Your keyword bids now buy a second kind of click. Check what it's returning.
How to see what prompts are doing
- In the Amazon Ads console, go to Reports and create a new report.
- Choose Sponsored Products, then the Prompts report.
- Look at spend, clicks, sales and ACoS per prompt.
Prompts also appear inside each ad group under Ads, but only after they've had at least one click.
What to check this week
- Is prompt spend profitable? Compare prompt ACoS to each product's break-even. If it's well above, pause those prompts. You can pause individual prompts in the console or through the API.
- Are the prompts accurate? Read what Amazon wrote about your products. Prompts are built from your listing, so a vague or outdated detail page makes a vague prompt.
- Is your listing ready for questions? Shoppers ask an assistant things like "is this safe during pregnancy" or "how long does one bag last." Answers on your detail page and A+ content give the assistant better material.
- Is your brand-defense still covered? When shoppers ask about your brand, competitors' ads can show in the same conversation, just as on a search page.
Why this matters beyond one ad type
More shopping now starts with a question instead of a keyword. "Best multivitamin for a picky eater" isn't a search term you bid on. That pushes advertisers toward complete listings, clear product facts and strong reviews, because that's what the assistant reads. Keyword bidding still matters; it just isn't the only way in.
It also means Amazon will keep adding ad placements you're enrolled in by default. Checking new placements, and their reports, is now part of the routine.
How Adtender handles it
Adtender pulls the Prompts report alongside your search terms, flags prompts that spend above each product's break-even, and proposes pausing them with the numbers attached. It watches Amazon's release notes so new placements like this show up in your log rather than as a surprise on your bill.
Sources: Amazon Ads, "Agentic shopping advertising" (June 2026); PPC Land, "Amazon's AI shopping prompts are now billable" (March 2026). Details may change; check Amazon Ads for current terms.
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