Overview

Episode 174 of the Serious Sellers Podcast, hosted by Michelle Barnum Smith, featured an e‑commerce advertising specialist who unpacked Amazon’s latest tightening of post‑purchase messaging rules. The conversation emphasized that sellers must redesign their chatbot flows to stay within policy while still fostering genuine buyer interaction—a balance that directly affects account health and organic ranking potential.

Key Points

• Policy tightening — Amazon now requires every post‑purchase chat to exclude any language that explicitly asks for a review, shifting the focus to value‑based communication.
• Review velocity impact — Listings that accumulate authentic, organically earned reviews more quickly tend to climb higher in search results, but only when those reviews are not solicited through prohibited phrasing.
• Automation risk — Fully scripted, one‑size‑fits‑all messages are more likely to trigger policy violations, whereas personalized, timely outreach yields better conversion and fewer buyer complaints.
• Opt‑out requirement — Every message must contain a clear, clickable opt‑out option; failure to provide this leads Amazon to automatically block future communications to that buyer.
• Timing intelligence — Sellers who analyze the gap between purchase, shipment, and delivery can pinpoint the sweet spot for follow‑up messages without appearing intrusive.
• Third‑party integration — Using platforms that are pre‑approved to work with Amazon’s messaging API helps automate compliance checks while preserving a brand’s voice.

How Amazon’s Chat Flow Rules Work

1. Trigger definition — Sellers choose an event (such as “order shipped” or “delivery confirmed”) that launches a chat message. Example: A seller sets a trigger to send a “Your package is on its way” note exactly 24 hours after the carrier marks the order as dispatched.
2. Content compliance filter — Before the message leaves Amazon’s servers, an automated scanner looks for prohibited phrases like “please review” or “rate us.” : The sentence “We’d love to hear your thoughts” passes the filter, while “Leave a 5‑star review” is blocked and the message is not sent.