I asked Amazon’s Rufus a simple question—and its answer was uncomfortably (and impressively) specific. In this episode, I unpack why that moment matters: Rufus appears to be building persistent memories about who we are as shoppers, shifting from a mere search tool into something that feels like a relationship.  

I break down how this differs from legacy “people who bought X also bought Y” personalization, why this could upend my prior stance on retailer chatbots, and what it means for both consumer brands and competing retailers. Think long‑term context, cross‑category intelligence, and what happens when your brand’s post‑purchase experience now influences future discoverability.    

Timeline Summary

• [0:00 ] — The surprisingly accurate Rufus moment that sparked this episode.  
• [0:32 ] — Why “memory” is more than a feature update—it’s a relationship shift.  
• [1:01 ] — Four ways memory beats traditional personalization: triggers, follow‑ups, methods, and context duration.  
• [2:38 ] — Rethinking retailer chatbots vs. integrating with personal AI agents (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude).  
• [3:24 ] — Why most “me‑too” retail bots still fail—and the smarter bridge‑building play.  
• [4:48 ] — Brand impact: switching costs rise; quality and “kept” rates become defensible moats.  
• [5:50 ] — Retailer playbook: alliances, category depth, and in‑store data advantages.  

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