At the unBoxed conference, Amazon unveiled two new ad formats designed to help sellers and vendors build brands and drive more reviews.
Branded Conversations allows brands to feed Alexa for Shopping with proprietary product knowledge. When a shopper starts a conversation via a Sponsored Brands ad, Alexa can provide targeted guidance on which product fits which customer profile—and which complementary products make sense. The launch is planned for January 2027 in the USA.
Review Requests is a new ad format that prompts verified buyers directly on Amazon pages like the homepage to leave a review. In testing, Amazon achieved up to three times more reviews per week with this format. The offering targets products with under 1,000 reviews and launches in late October 2026 as an open beta in the USA.
What should sellers and vendors keep in mind?
Branded Conversations requires structured product knowledge: Sellers need to actively provide Alexa with information—such as which product is suitable for which skin type, or which items can be sensibly combined. Listings that don’t clearly reflect this differentiation don’t give Alexa a usable foundation. If you want to use the format starting January 2027, you should sharpen your product positioning and target group descriptions in your listings now.
Review Requests as an ad format with clear limitations: The new format targets ads specifically to verified buyers and prompts them to review with a tap—optionally with text, a photo, or a video. If a product reaches 1,000 reviews, the campaign automatically pauses. For new ASINs with limited social proof, this can significantly accelerate trust-building and thereby reduce waste in your ad budget.
Not a replacement for the existing review request process: The classic request-a-review button in Seller Central will remain available. However, it reaches buyers only via email and with significantly lower visibility. Review Requests as an ad format, by contrast, relies on prominent placements such as the Amazon homepage. Sellers should combine both channels as soon as the format becomes available in Europe.
