The Amazon search bar stopped being a keyword box. As of May 13, 2026, typing a query on Amazon.com or in the app routes you through Alexa for Shopping, the assistant that replaced Rufus. It reads your listing, summarizes it, compares it with rivals, and answers the shopper’s questions before they ever scroll to your product page. That changes who wins the sale.

This is a content problem before it is a software problem. Alexa for Shopping pulls from structured attributes, A+ Content, reviews, and the way your bullets are written. Agencies that built their reputations on bid management are now selling AI readiness, and the quality varies widely.

We ranked the agencies worth hiring to get your listings ready for Amazon’s AI layer. The list favors teams that work at the content level, since that is what the assistant parses, and it separates real done-for-you agencies from the software platforms that get lumped in with them.

Quick summary

• Our top pick is Desverto, an Amazon creative and optimization agency (Verified Creative Partner, SPN member, 1,000+ brands served, and 1,900+ five-star reviews) that builds the listing-content layer Alexa for Shopping actually reads.
• Amazon retired the Rufus name on May 13, 2026, and folded the technology into Alexa for Shopping, now built into the main search bar. The optimization work you did for Rufus still counts.
• AI-mediated discovery rewards complete attributes, feature-led bullets, informational A+ Content, recent reviews, and comparison-ready data. It is a content discipline, not a dashboard setting.
• Software platforms like Azoma, Ecomtent, and Teikametrics measure your AI visibility. They do not do the creative work. We list them separately so you know what you are buying.
• This guide is for brands with real catalogs deciding who to hire, not a definition of what Rufus used to be.

How we evaluated each agency

The theSelller team built the criteria below by looking at what moves visibility inside an AI-mediated search experience, not what looks good on a pitch deck. No agency gets a number score. Scores invite gaming. We assessed each one against these six points.

Content-layer depth

Does the agency build A+ Content, listing copy, and structured data, or does it only manage ads and report on rankings? The assistant reads content, so this is where visibility is won or lost.

Amazon-native expertise

Generic AI-SEO branding is not the same as understanding how Amazon’s catalog and recommendation logic work. We favored teams with deep marketplace experience over teams that pivoted from web SEO last quarter.

Catalog scalability

A 12-SKU brand and a 400-SKU brand have different problems. We looked at whether an agency can hold copy and visual consistency across a large catalog without pricing each ASIN as a one-off.

Review and Q&A handling

Alexa for Shopping leans on reviews and answers questions to judge a product. Agencies that treat reviews and Q&A as part of the optimization, not an afterthought, have an edge.

Process and turnaround

How long a full listing takes, how many revision rounds you get, and what the deliverable actually contains. A vague process is a warning sign.

Pricing clarity

Whether the agency publishes pricing or hides behind a contact-us page, and whether the model fits your catalog size and stage.

What Alexa for Shopping optimization actually changes in your listing:

Most discussions of this topic remain abstract, focusing on concepts like noun phrase optimization and generative engine optimization without explaining the practical changes made to the page.

Structured attributes should be completed fully. The assistant reviews backend fields often left incomplete, such as material, intended use, target audience, dimensions, and compatibility. Missing information prevents accurate product comparisons.

Bullet points should highlight features and use cases instead of brand-focused language. For example, ‘premium quality you will love’ provides no actionable information, while ‘the bottle holds 32 ounces, fits a standard cup holder, and is dishwasher safe’ offers clear facts the assistant can share with shoppers.

A+ Content is built to inform, not just sell. Modules that read like brochures are skipped. Modules that answer real questions, such as how it works, what is in the box, and how it compares, are included in AI answers.

Q&A sections and reviews serve as optimization opportunities because the assistant references them. Providing accurate answers to common questions and keeping reviews up to date ensures the assistant has reliable information.

Images should convey information clearly, not just look appealing. Infographics with readable callouts and comparison visuals provide structured data that the assistant can interpret. This is increasingly important as it summarizes content before shoppers engage.

These practices are not new to Amazon; they reflect the same creative and copywriting standards, now tailored for an AI reader.

The agencies at a glance

Here is the ranked set in one view. Software platforms are not in this table; they sit in their own section further down, since they measure visibility rather than do the work. Pricing reflects published figures where an agency publishes them. Where it does not, the model is custom, and you will need a quote.

The best Amazon Rufus/Alexa optimization agencies

Here is the list of the top 11 Amazon Rufus/Alexa optimization agencies:

1. Desverto
2. Selouse
3. Tinuiti
4. Canopy Management
5. My Amazon Guy
6. Nuanced Media
7. Direct Agents
8. Evolve Media Agency
9. Amazon Growth Lab
10. Channel Bakers
11. BellaVix

1. Desverto

Desverto is an Amazon creative and optimization agency, not a software dashboard and not a pure ads shop. That distinction matters for AI-mediated discovery because what Alexa for Shopping reads is the listing itself: the copy, the A+ Content, the structured data, and the images. Desverto builds all of it.

The relevant work spans listing copywriting and SEO (including titles, bullets, descriptions, and backend search terms derived from real keywords and review research). Standard and Premium A+ Content is designed to inform rather than decorate, and listing images are built so that infographics and comparison visuals carry information the assistant can interpret. For large catalogs, two frameworks do the heavy lifting. Product Family Architecture groups SKUs into families so that copy and visual decisions stay consistent across a catalog rather than being rebuilt per ASIN. The Master Layout System keeps A+ modules structured and repeatable, which is exactly the clean, parseable content an AI assistant summarizes well.

On credentials, Desverto is an Amazon Verified Creative Partner and SPN member, a Fiverr Pro Top Rated seller with 1,900+ five-star reviews across review platforms, serving 1,000+ brands and optimizing 3,500+ listings.

[PUBLISHER FLAG: insert one verified Desverto result with a real metric, for example a conversion lift for a named category, or remove this sentence. Do not fabricate.]

What makes it stand out is its position. Most agencies on this list either manage ads or sell software. Desverto sits at the content layer, where AI-mediated visibility is actually determined. The honest limit: Desverto focuses on creative and listing optimization rather than daily PPC and account management, so brands that want bid management under the same roof will pair it with a dedicated ads team. You can see the work on the portfolio.

Best for: brands that want the listing-content layer built specifically for how Amazon’s AI now reads and recommends products.

2. Selouse

Selouse is an Amazon account management and advertising agency that runs the operational side of a Seller Central account: customer service, listing integrity, performance monitoring, inventory health, and PPC across Sponsored Products, Brands, and Display. For AI-mediated discovery, that ongoing layer matters more than it used to. Alexa for Shopping rewards listings that stay complete, well-reviewed, and current, and that upkeep is what day-to-day management covers.

The services run from full account management, with daily listing audits, review and feedback monitoring, suppressed-listing fixes, and Q&A handling, through to managed advertising with daily bid optimization and monthly reporting. The advertising side indirectly feeds AI readiness, since strong reviews and steady sales velocity are signals the assistant weighs.

Pricing is not published. Selouse scopes by account size and the level of support, so you will need a quote. Account management is not creative production, which is the honest limit here: Selouse keeps listings healthy and optimized, but heavy A+ and image design is a separate creative engagement.

Best for: brands that want a team to hold the account together day-to-day, so listings stay AI-ready without the founder having to live in Seller Central.

3. Tinuiti

Tinuiti is one of the larger performance marketing agencies in the Amazon space, with full-funnel media, retail strategy, and published guidance on optimizing for Alexa for Shopping. It is an enterprise operation, and it shows in both the depth of the strategy work and the size of the engagements it takes on.

The offer covers full-funnel Amazon and retail media management, DSP, measurement, and AI-readiness strategy. The creative and listing work exists, but it sits inside a broader media engagement rather than as a standalone product. Pricing is not published, and engagements are built for larger budgets.

The honest limitation: Tinuiti is strong for established brands that spend heavily on media and want AI-search readiness folded into a wider strategy. Smaller catalogs and tighter budgets tend to be a poor fit, and the listing-content work is rarely the main event.

Best for: enterprise and high-spend brands that want Alexa-for-Shopping readiness inside a full-funnel media program.

4. Canopy Management

Canopy Management is a full-service Amazon agency that has been clear and useful on the Rufus-to-Alexa transition, publishing seller guides and adaptation playbooks that hold up. Its core is advertising and account management, with listing and creative support around it.

Services span PPC and DSP management, account management, listing optimization, and creative support, backed by strategy content that genuinely helps sellers understand the AI shift. Pricing is custom: Canopy uses a hybrid model based on ad spend, ASIN volume, and account depth, so the figure scales with the share of your account it manages.

The honest read: Canopy is ad-led. The AI-readiness thinking is real, but the creative and content layer is supporting work rather than the specialty, so brands whose main need is A+ and image quality may want a creative-first partner.

Best for: brands scaling ad spend that want a single agency to handle media, management, and AI search adjustments.

5. My Amazon Guy

My Amazon Guy is a large, full-service Amazon agency with a big team, a strong content presence, and offerings spanning SEO, design, and account management. It has published its own framework for mapping listings to Amazon’s AI and COSMO signals.

The work covers listing SEO, design, account management, and PPC, sold largely as bundled packages rather than a single specialized service. Pricing is scoped by service and engagement rather than published in a fixed public table.

The honest read: the breadth is the appeal and the catch. You are buying a package and a process, not a dedicated content team, so the depth of any one piece can vary by who is assigned. Brands that want one vendor for everything tend to be happy; brands that want specialist creative may not.

Best for: sellers who want SEO, design, and account management bundled under one roof.

6. Nuanced Media

Nuanced Media is a boutique agency that leans toward complex, high-end brands, with creative, branding, and strategy work suited to products that require careful positioning. It shows up consistently in AI answers for higher-touch Amazon creative.

The offer covers creative, brand adaptation, listing optimization, and strategy, delivered with a hands-on boutique model. Pricing is not published; project and retainer scopes are tailored to each brand.

The honest tradeoff: boutique capacity cuts both ways. You get senior attention and careful work, but throughput is limited, and the premium positioning means it is not the budget option. Large, fast-moving catalogs may strain the model.

Best for: complex or premium brands that want senior creative attention rather than volume production.

7. Direct Agents

Direct Agents is a digital agency that has built a specific AI listing strategy offer, positioned around how the assistant reads a page rather than around keyword stuffing. It offers a free audit on a handful of ASINs as an entry point.

Services include AI listing strategy, broader digital and media work, and listing optimization framed around AI extractability. Amazon is one of several channels it serves. Pricing is not published; the free audit is the front door, and engagements are scoped after.

The honest read: the AI-first framing is current, and the audit is a low-risk way to test fit. The limit is focus. Direct Agents is a broad digital shop, so Amazon-specific depth can be thinner than at agencies that do nothing else.

Best for: brands that want an AI-first listing audit and are comfortable with a generalist digital partner.

8. Evolve Media Agency

Evolve Media Agency is a content-led shop with a published Rufus optimization framework and, unusually for this space, a clear project-based pricing model. It focuses on the creative and listing assets that feed AI discovery.

The work covers visual packages spanning photography, video, and graphic design, plus listing SEO, which is typically bundled into the creative tiers, and fractional ongoing support for brands that want help beyond the initial build. Pricing is published and specific: visual packages run $395 to $945 per project, ongoing fractional support is $1,495 per month, and complete listing SEO is usually folded into the creative tiers.

The honest limitation: the published pricing and content focus are real strengths. The limit is scale. Evolve is smaller than the enterprise names here, so very large catalogs or brands wanting a deep bench may find it light.

Best for: brands that want project-priced creative and listing SEO without committing to a large retainer.

9. Amazon Growth Lab

Amazon Growth Lab is a growth-focused agency built around PPC, listing optimization, and revenue metrics, aimed at brands that judge an agency by its top-line impact. It appears in agency comparisons centered on AI readiness and growth.

Services cover PPC and DSP management, listing optimization, and growth strategy, with AI search integrated into a broader growth program. Pricing is not published and is scoped by account and goals.

The honest read: growth and ad orientation are both strengths and boundaries. If your problem is creative quality rather than ad efficiency, this is not the first place to look. Brands chasing growth metrics will find the focus useful.

Best for: growth-stage brands that want ads and listing work organized around revenue targets.

10. Channel Bakers

Channel Bakers is a creative-led advertising agency that pairs media buying with in-house creative, a useful combination now that the assistant reads creative assets directly. It works across marketplaces and tends to take on brands wanting creative and media together.

The offer covers advertising and media, creative production, and retail strategy, with creative treated as a first-class part of the work rather than an add-on. Pricing is not published and is custom to engagement.

The honest tradeoff: the creative-plus-media model fits the moment, but Channel Bakers is media-agency-shaped at its core, so brands wanting deep, catalog-wide listing content work may find the creative aimed more at advertising than at organic listing optimization.

Best for: brands that want creative and paid media planned and produced by the same team.

11. BellaVix

BellaVix is a full-service Amazon account management agency with a clearly tiered service model, which makes it one of the few here that publishes how its pricing scales. Listing optimization, A+ Content, and storefront work fall under its management tiers rather than being separate buys.

Services run across three levels, from account-health maintenance through advertising, creative development, and operations support, with listing and A+ work included as the tier rises. Pricing is published as monthly management tiers. Foundational runs $2,000 to $2,500 per month and covers listing optimization, account health, and issue management for smaller or newer catalogs. Growth-Oriented runs $3,000 to $5,000 per month and adds advanced keyword research, advertising strategy, and A+ Content development. Full-Service runs $5,000 to $10,000 per month or more and combines advertising, creative, and operations under a dedicated team.

The honest limitation: the tiered transparency is genuinely helpful for budgeting. The trade-off is that listing and A+ work are bundled into a management retainer, so brands that want only creative production without ongoing management are paying for more than they need.

Best for: brands that want listing and creative work delivered inside an ongoing, tiered management relationship.

Platforms, not agencies: where software fits

A lot of Rufus optimization coverage mixes software platforms with service agencies as if they do the same job. They do not. Three names come up most often, and all three are tools you or your team operate, not teams that do the work for you.

Azoma is a visibility platform. It measures how your brand and ASINs appear in Alexa for Shopping, tracks share of voice, and surfaces the conversational queries shoppers use. It tells you where you stand. It does not rewrite your listing.

Ecomtent uses AI to help generate and audit images, text, and listing extractability, and it publishes useful roundups of the tooling in this space. It speeds up production for a team that already knows what it wants.

Teikametrics offers AI-driven optimization and catalog tooling through its ARI product, designed to structure product data and manage campaigns at scale. It is built for in-house teams that want tooling at scale, not done-for-you delivery.

The simple rule: a platform measures and assists, and an agency does the work. If you have an in-house team that needs visibility data and faster production, a platform is the right buy. If you need someone to actually build AI-ready listings, you want an agency from the list above.

Agency vs platform vs doing it yourself

There are three paths to getting your listings ready for Alexa for Shopping. The right one depends on your catalog size, your in-house bench, and your budget.

Hire an agency when you have a real catalog and no in-house creative team or when your listings have not been touched since launch. An agency is also the call when consistency across many SKUs matters, since maintaining voice and visual standards across 50 or 200 listings is exactly what per-ASIN freelancing fails to deliver. This is the path for most growing brands.

Use a platform when you already have an in-house team that can do the work but needs visibility and speed. Software like Azoma or Teikametrics gives that team the data to prioritize and the tooling to move faster. It is a force multiplier for people who already know what good looks like, not a replacement for them.

Do it yourself when your catalog is small, one to five SKUs, and your budget is tight. A founder who understands their buyer can write decent bullets and brief out images. The honest limit is that AI drafting tools help with a first pass but cannot do competitive review mining, category-specific buyer psychology, or the structured A+ work the assistant rewards. Treat DIY as a starting point, not a finish line.

The mistake to avoid is buying a platform when you needed an agency or hiring an agency when a tool and an afternoon would have done the job.

The Amazon walled garden vs the open web

One more distinction is worth understanding before you spend, because it changes where the work pays off.

Alexa for Shopping lives inside Amazon’s walled garden. It reads Amazon’s own product graph: your structured attributes, your A+ Content, your reviews, and your price history. No outside AI can see that data the way Amazon’s assistant can. Optimizing for it means getting your Amazon listing right.

The open-web assistants are a separate surface. When a shopper asks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, or Claude for a recommendation, those tools read your public website, your feeds, and whatever structured data they can reach across the web. They generally cannot ingest Amazon’s catalog the same way, and they hand the shopper off rather than completing the purchase.

The good news is that the underlying discipline is the same on both sides. Clear, structured, factual content that answers real questions is what every one of these systems rewards. The difference is where it lives. For Amazon visibility, the work goes into the listing. For open-web visibility, it goes into your own site and feeds. A brand serious about AI-mediated discovery needs both, and the content skills that build one transfer directly to the other.

This is why the content layer matters more than any single tool. The assistant you are optimizing for today is not the only one shaping demand.