Amazon has introduced Rufus, a cutting-edge conversational shopping experience driven by generative artificial intelligence (AI).

According to a statement released by the U.S.-based global e-commerce giant on Thursday, Rufus serves as a knowledgeable shopping assistant, drawing upon Amazon's extensive product catalog and data gathered from various sources on the internet.

It can answer customers' questions on shopping needs and products, make comparisons and recommendations based on context and facilitate product discovery.

In addition, customers can learn what to look for while shopping product categories, shop by occasion or purpose based on activity and event, get help comparing product categories, find the best recommendations and ask questions about a specific product while on a product detail page.

Rufus was launched Thursday in beta version to a small number of customers in Amazon’s mobile app, while it will roll out to additional American customers in the coming weeks.