In partnership with
Quick quiz: Amazon's 2026 AI budget is larger than the GDP of how many countries?
A) 50 countries
B) 100 countries
C) 130+ countries
(Answer at the bottom — and why sellers should care.)
Amazon is all in on AI.
They just announced $200 billion in AI infrastructure spending for 2026. That's up from $131 billion last year. Wall Street expected big, but not this big. The stock dropped about 10%.
But Amazon isn't stupid.
When they bet this heavily, sellers gotta pay attention. Rufus AI is changing how customers find products straight up. The new Amazon Ads MCP Server means AI can now manage your campaigns directly. First mover advantage is real.
And there's a whole lot more behind the AI investment beyond just that.
But here's the tension. While Amazon is playing the long game, most sellers are fighting for survival right now. The tariffs, the fee increases, the margin compression, the black hat hijackers — you name it. Some sellers are thinking about quitting. Others are looking for an exit.
That's why I created the Tariff Profitability Challenge — a 14-day sprint to boost your profitability, whether you want to stay in the game or exit with a better multiple. It starts with your unit economics. And you can start today.
Here's what's inside this week:
→ Amazon Q4 earnings: The $200 billion AI bet
→ Amazon Ads MCP Server: AI can now run your PPC
→ India tariffs just dropped 32 points — sourcing lifeline?
→ 8 billion same-day deliveries (and why FBM sellers should worry)
→ Quick Hits: FBA fee change + Big Spring Sale dates
→ 🎁 Free 2026 Amazon Promo Calendar
Let's get into it.
Quick question: Are you investing in AI tools for your Amazon business this year?
Reply "AI" if yes — I read every response.
Amazon Q4 Earnings: The $200 Billion AI Bet
Here's what dropped last night.
Amazon's Q4 2025 revenue hit $213.4 billion, up 14% year over year. Beat estimates. AWS grew 24% — Jassy called it their fastest growth in 13 quarters. Ad revenue hit $21.3 billion, up 22%.
But the $200 billion in planned capex for 2026 — up from $131 billion in 2025 — spooked the market. Stock dropped roughly 10% after hours. Wall Street expected around $147 billion. Amazon blew past that by over $50 billion.
Jassy said on the earnings call the spending would "predominantly" go to AWS. "Customers really want AWS for core and AI workloads, and we're monetizing capacity as fast as we can install it."
Also worth noting: Amit Agarwal, a 27-year Amazon veteran, now leads Worldwide Selling Partner Services. He replaces Dharmesh Mehta, who's becoming Jassy's new Technical Advisor. Agarwal already runs International Emerging Stores across 10 countries including India, Brazil, and South Africa. He's now overseeing both international expansion and the marketplace that accounts for over 60% of Amazon's unit sales — and he's tasked with integrating AI into the seller experience to keep Amazon ahead of rivals like Temu.
When Amazon puts a 27-year veteran in charge of sellers AND AI integration at the same time — that tells you where this is headed.
Takeaway for sellers: Amazon is investing in efficiency across the board — from Rufus AI changing how customers shop, to ad automation, to fulfillment robotics. Sellers who don't adapt get left behind. Sellers who embrace the AI tools will have the edge.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/05/amazon-amzn-q4-earnings-report-2025.html https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/company-news/dharmesh-mehta-selling-partner-services-amit-agarwal
📋 Quick Survey — I’d love your Input
Times are changing and Amazon sellers and ecom brand owners are adapting in 2026.
I’d love to get your input about goals and your challenges so I can continue creating content to help you.
Amazon Ads MCP Server: AI Can Now Run Your PPC
This one flew under the radar for most sellers. It shouldn't have.
Amazon just opened their Ads API to AI agents. It's called the Amazon Ads MCP Server, and it's now in open beta. MCP stands for Model Context Protocol — an open standard originally developed by Anthropic for how AI systems communicate with external tools.
Here's what that means in plain English: you can now connect AI tools like Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini directly to Amazon's ad systems through a single integration. Once connected, these AI agents can:
Create, update, or delete campaigns via natural language prompts
Run performance and reporting queries — no manual pulling
Expand campaigns to new countries with a single command
Manage budgets and access billing data automatically
Paula Despins, VP of Ads Measurement at Amazon Ads, said advertisers get "a connection point and a translator that lets agents or AI tools talk and communicate in a standard way to our systems, instead of requiring custom codes for every integration."
The server includes pre-built tools that bundle common multi-step workflows into single actions. For example, you can launch a full Sponsored Products campaign — with ad groups, audiences, and budget breakdown — from one prompt. What used to take 3+ separate operations now takes one.
During internal testing, Amazon found that without these guardrails, AI agents would sometimes pull 3 years of data when asked for a simple report, or default to deprecated API versions. The MCP tools fix that by giving agents explicit instructions for standard workflows.
⚠️ A word of caution: AI doesn't care if it's spending your money poorly. Get the algorithms and guardrails right — or you could lose tens of thousands before you realize what happened. This is powerful, but it's not set-it-and-forget-it.
Takeaway for sellers: Most sellers won't use this today. But the sellers and agencies who figure out AI-driven campaign management first will have a real edge — lower costs, faster optimization, less manual grunt work. If you're running PPC at any serious volume, start paying attention to how AI agents can plug into your ad stack. First mover advantage is real.
Read more: https://advertising.amazon.com/en-us/library/news/amazon-ads-mcp-server-open-beta/ https://digiday.com/media-buying/ad-tech-briefing-amazon-launches-mcp-server-for-agent-driven-advertising/
India-US Trade Deal: Tariff Lifeline for Sellers?
Sourcing from China and the tariffs are crushing you? This might be worth a look.
The US just slashed tariffs on Indian goods from 50% down to 18%. Effective immediately.
Best categories for sellers: textiles, leather goods, electronics, and engineering goods.
It's not a silver bullet — India's supply chain isn't China's, and you'll need to vet manufacturers carefully. But if you've been thinking about diversifying your sourcing, this just made India a lot more attractive. Worth a call to your sourcing agent this week.
8 Billion Same-Day Deliveries: The Speed Gap Just Got Wider
Amazon Prime delivered 8+ billion items same-day or next-day in 2025. That's a 30% jump over 2024.
And they're not slowing down. Amazon is now testing 30-minute delivery in Philadelphia and Seattle.
If you're an FBM seller: The speed gap between you and FBA just got wider. Again. Customers are being trained to expect same-day. If you can't compete on speed, you better compete on something else — price, uniqueness, bundling, whatever it is. But ignoring the delivery speed arms race is getting more dangerous every quarter.
⚡ QUICK HITS
FBA Removal Fee Change — Feb 15 ⏰ Per-unit billing starts in 10 days. You'll see more line items in your dashboard. If you've been putting off cleaning out slow inventory, the clock is ticking.
Big Spring Sale — March 25-31 🛒 Deal enrollment is OPEN. This is the first major sales event of 2026. If you're not already prepping inventory, listings, and PPC budgets — start now.
📅 FREE: 2026 Amazon Promo Calendar
Every date. Every deadline. Every prep window. One page.
I put together a free PDF with every Amazon promo event and key deadline for 2026 so you can plan ahead instead of scrambling last minute.
Amazon is betting $200 billion on AI. Smart sellers are betting on themselves — by getting the fundamentals right first.
The tariffs, the fees, the competition — none of that matters if your unit economics are broken. You gotta look at your products, your pricing, your shipping, your unit economics, your PPC campaigns, your listings, your conversion rates, how you're benchmarking against your competitors. That will make or break your business.
A lot of sellers are getting out of this game. But at the same time, Warren Buffett said: "Be fearful when others are greedy. But when people are fearful" — like right now — "that's when you gotta be greedy."
Right now is the time to double down.
THE VITAL FEW (In Case You Missed It)
→Amazon Cuts SAFE-T Claims Window to 30 Days
→Freight Rates Drop 11–12% — Lock In Now
→TikTok Shop’s “Amazonification” Begins
→The Amazon Rufus Optimization Checklist
→The 96% Rule: Why Your Customers Will Pay for Tariffs (If You Do This One Thing)
→The Freight Rate Opportunity: Why Rates Are Dropping (And What to Do)
→Why AI Shopping Agents Need Machine-Readable Catalogs
→🎁 The Fastest Way to Optimize Your Listings for Amazon Rufus
Ready for More?
💼 Sponsor this newsletter – Get in front of 13,000+ engaged Amazon sellers. Contact me
🎯 Work with me 1-on-1 – Coaching on Amazon growth, Japan expansion, sourcing, or AI. Apply here
🤝 Partner with me – Webinars, content collabs, or events. Email: [email protected]
🎁 Surprise Link of the Week
Curious how Amazon's own executives use AI in their daily lives?
Doug Herrington (CEO of Amazon Stores) uses Rufus to auto-buy dog toys when prices drop. Kara Hurst made custom AI-generated songs for her dad. Beryl Tomay uses AI to pick her next book.
These aren't experiments — they're practical hacks from the people running the company that just bet $200B on AI.
How was today’s newsletter?
🧠 QUIZ ANSWER
C) 130+ countries.
Amazon's $200 billion AI budget is larger than the GDP of over 130 nations. That's not a typo.
When a company invests more than most countries produce in a year — on a single initiative — pay attention.
AI isn't optional anymore. From Rufus changing how customers find products, to MCP letting AI run your ads — the sellers who adapt will thrive. The rest will wonder what happened.
Your Boss Will Think You’re an Ecom Genius
You’re optimizing for growth. You need ecom tactics that actually work. Not mushy strategies.
Go-to-Millions is the ecommerce growth newsletter from Ari Murray, packed with tactical insights, smart creative, and marketing that drives revenue.
Every issue is built for operators: clear, punchy, and grounded in what’s working, from product strategy to paid media to conversion lifts.
Subscribe free and get your next growth unlock delivered weekly.
Talk soon,
Gary
P.S. Still haven't taken the survey? 2 minutes, 5 questions → https://newsletter.7figuresellersummit.com/forms/98d26fc6-83f9-4b92-945c-5c83c504b299
P.P.S. Tariffs eating your margins? [The Tariff Profitability Challenge →]