How to hide Amazon’s Alexa promos and assistant panel
Amazon really wants you to meet Alexa. There are banners on the homepage, “just ask Alexa” prompts on product pages, and a full-height assistant sidebar that opens itself while you shop. There is no setting that turns any of it off. If you want it gone, your browser has to do it.
What Amazon is showing you
The Alexa push shows up in four places:
- The assistant sidebar. Amazon’s shopping assistant launched as Rufus and is now Alexa-branded. On many layouts it docks itself to the side of the page, uninvited, and squeezes your results into the column that’s left. Close it and a button stays in the nav bar; on plenty of visits it simply opens again.
- Homepage hero banners. Full-width Alexa+ creatives at the top of amazon.com.
- Product-page prompts. “Just ask Alexa” question widgets planted between you and the reviews.
- “Works with Alexa” badge widgets. Certification promos on product pages. (Not to be confused with products that work with Alexa, which are listings, not promos. More on that below.)
Option 1: Knockoff’s one-click toggle
Knockoff is a free Chrome, Firefox, and Safari extension whose main job is filtering trademark-squat pseudo-brands out of Amazon search. Hiding the Alexa push is a built-in extra, same as hiding sponsored ads:
It runs entirely in your browser, works on every Amazon marketplace, and applies before the page first paints, so the panel doesn’t flash into view on every navigation. Amazon reshuffles this part of its markup constantly; Knockoff’s list of what counts as a promo refreshes daily on its own, without waiting for an extension update.
Three things it deliberately leaves alone:
- Products. A smart plug whose title says “Works with Alexa” is a product, not a promo. On a smart-home search, half the titles say it. Knockoff never hides a search result or a listing, only Amazon’s own promotional slots.
- Your cart. On some layouts Amazon renders the cart inside the docked assistant panel. Knockoff checks for that and leaves the panel visible rather than hide your cart with it.
- Alexa itself. This is about promos in your shopping, not your devices. Echo products, Alexa app pages, and anything you search for are untouched.
The toggle ships off, same as the sponsored filter. Knockoff’s default job is filtering junk brands; decluttering Amazon is your call.
Option 2: ad-blocker custom filters
If you run uBlock Origin or similar, you can write cosmetic filters against the assistant panel’s element ids. It works, with caveats beyond the usual maintenance:
- The ids and layout vary by test cohort and change often, so filters that work for you may not work for someone else, or next month.
- Hiding the panel element isn’t enough. When the panel docks, Amazon also adds roughly 320 pixels of page padding and a frame around your results, so a plain hide leaves the page squeezed into a narrow column with a blank border. Reclaiming the layout takes extra CSS of its own.
- A blanket filter can’t tell when your cart is rendered inside the panel, so it will hide the cart right along with it.
If you enjoy maintaining filter rules, it’s a workable DIY route. If you don’t, use a tool where that maintenance is somebody’s job.
What about Amazon’s own settings?
To save you the search: there is nothing in your Amazon account, and nothing in the Alexa app, that removes the promos or keeps the assistant panel closed. You can close the panel by hand, every time, on every device where it decides to open.
Frequently asked questions
Can I turn off Alexa promos in my Amazon settings?
No. No account setting removes them. Only a browser-side filter does it.
What is the sidebar that keeps opening?
Amazon’s shopping assistant: launched as Rufus, now Alexa-branded. It docks itself to the page while you shop, and closing it is a suggestion, not a setting.
Will this hide products that work with Alexa?
No. Promos are hidden; products never are. A listing that mentions Alexa in its title stays exactly where it was.
What if my cart shows inside the assistant panel?
Knockoff notices and leaves that panel visible instead of hiding your cart with it. Your cart always wins.
Your search results, full width again.
Knockoff filters trademark-squat junk brands out of Amazon, and can take the sponsored ads and the Alexa push with them. All in your browser, all your call.