Today's tip · Brand Protection
Your infringement report now has a proofreader. Use it before Amazon does.
Amazon added an AI helper to the Report Infringement form in Brand Registry. It won't argue your case, but it will tell you when you're about to file the wrong one.
Most rejected infringement notices don't fail on the merits. They fail on paperwork: the wrong infringement type, missing evidence, a reporting path that doesn't fit the problem. Amazon's new Reporter Assistant is aimed squarely at that. Brand Registry users with Rights Owner or Registered Agent permissions can open it from Report Infringement by clicking Ask Reporter Assistant.
It works step by step while you fill in the form. It helps you choose the correct infringement type, explains what evidence that type requires, confirms your reporting path and points out form errors before you hit submit. You can type a question or pick a suggested prompt at any step. Amazon's stated goal is fewer rejected notices and more reports that are complete the first time.
Now the fine print, which Amazon was careful to include. Using Reporter Assistant does not change the case resolution process, and every report stays subject to standard review. Think of it as a proofreader, not an advocate. The evidence still has to be yours, and it still has to be good.
From Amazon's Seller Central announcement. Available to Brand Registry users with Rights Owner or Registered Agent permissions.
Source: Seller Central News, Report intellectual property infringement with AI-powered help
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceThe weekend plan
- 01Check your role
Reporter Assistant is for Rights Owner or Registered Agent permissions in Brand Registry.
- 02Open Report Infringement
Start a report the usual way, then click Ask Reporter Assistant.
- 03Confirm the infringement type
Ask which type fits before you choose. A wrong type is a fast route to a rejected notice.
- 04Gather the evidence it names
Have it list what that type requires, then collect it before you continue.
- 05Clear form errors, then submit
Fix what it flags. The report still goes to standard review.
Section 02
This week's checklist
7 jobs pulled from this issue, in the order the deadlines bite. Tick them off as you go. Your browser remembers the ticks, nobody else sees them, and a fresh list comes with each issue.
0 of 7 done
Section 03
The seller calendar
Every date Amazon has put in writing for the season, plus the two everyone knows. October is zoomed in on the chart because that's where the trouble is.
Peak fulfillment fees run Oct 15 to Jan 14. Plus $0.32 per unit on average, with the 3.5% surcharge on top.
| Date | What happens | Type | Countdown | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime Big Deal Days (Oct 6 to 7) | Shopping event | Done | About Amazon | |
| AWD arrival deadline for Black Friday Week | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Holiday peak fulfillment fees begin | Fees | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Original Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal deadline (Amazon has since extended it to Nov 13) | Deals | Done | Seller Central News | |
| FBA arrival deadline, minimal shipment splits | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| FBA arrival deadline, Amazon-optimized splits (most sellers) | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Business Hour Delivery Rate review: seller-fulfilled offers under 90% may be deactivated for Amazon Business customers | Offer | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Last day of off-peak storage for AWD with auto-replenishment | Inventory | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Confirm New Selection Program (2026) enrollment to keep launch fee credits | Fees | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Extended holiday returns begin: items bought Nov 1 to Dec 31 can come back until Jan 31 | Returns | Done | Seller Central News | |
| New commercial liability insurance requirements take effect: a $1 million policy for products in categories with enhanced safety listing requirements, with no sales threshold | Policy | Done | Seller Central News | |
| Virtual multipacks from the latest pilot wave become available to customers | Offer | In 7 days | Seller Central Help | |
| Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal sourcing closes (extended from Oct 20) | Deals | In 9 days | Seller Central News | |
| Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant live Q&A in the Seller Forums, 8 AM to 5 PM PT (questions open now) | Shopping event | In 14 days | Seller Forums | |
| Black Friday | Shopping event | In 23 days | Calendar | |
| Cyber Monday | Shopping event | In 26 days | Calendar | |
| Last day to create an international FBA shipment plan covered by Amazon's 45-day related-shipment and 90-day closure extensions | Inventory | In 26 days | Seller Central News | |
| Prepaid return labels required for most US seller-fulfilled returns (heavy and bulky items excepted for now) | Returns | In 44 days | Seller Forums | |
| Last day to sign up for the free 12-month Amazon Quick Plus subscription | Offer | In 57 days | About Amazon | |
| Last purchase date covered by the extended holiday return window | Returns | In 57 days | Seller Central News | |
| Updated product bundling policy takes effect: most single-ASIN bundles must be packaged by the original manufacturer or brand | Policy | In 68 days | Seller Central News | |
| Holiday peak fulfillment fees end | Fees | In 71 days | Seller Central News | |
| Last day to return holiday purchases under the extended window | Returns | In 88 days | Seller Central News |
Add every date to your calendar (.ics)Works with Google Calendar, Outlook and Apple Calendar. Re-download after big announcements.
Sources: Seller Central News, Holiday 2026, About Amazon, Seller Assistant, Seller Central News, 2026 holiday return policy, Seller Central News, Black Friday Cyber Monday deals deadline extended, Seller Central News, Business hour delivery requirement for seller-fulfilled shipments, Seller Central Help, Virtual multipacks, Seller Central News, New commercial liability insurance requirements, Seller Central News, New requirements for product bundles starting January 11, Seller Forums, Amazon's prepaid return label notice and moderator clarification, Seller Forums, Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflows
Fee watch
The changes that cost money this year, newest last. If Amazon hasn't announced it, it isn't here.
Since Jan 15, 2026
2026 US fee update
FBA fees rose by an average of $0.08 per unit. Amazon added no new fee types for 2026.
Amazon, 2026 US referral and FBA fee updateSince Apr 17, 2026
Fuel and logistics surcharge
3.5% on FBA fulfillment fees, about $0.17 per unit on average in the US. Multi-Channel Fulfillment and Buy with Prime followed on May 2.
Seller Central News, Fuel and logistics surchargeSince Sep 2026
MCF Preferred Pricing Program
Discounted Multi-Channel Fulfillment fees plus FBA credits per unit shipped. Amazon says sellers save 15% to 25% on fulfillment fees for the first six months, with no contract and one-click enrollment in Seller Central.
About Amazon, Prime delivery for MCF merchants' websitesOct 15, 2026 to Jan 14, 2027
Holiday peak fulfillment fees
About $0.32 more per unit on average, with the 3.5% surcharge calculated on top.
Seller Central News, Holiday 2026Holiday deal events
Deal fees
$100 upfront per promotion plus 1.5% of promotional sales, capped at $5,000, for Best Deals, Lightning Deals and Prime Exclusive Price Discounts.
Seller Central News, Holiday 2026Nov 1, 2026 to Jan 31, 2027
Extended holiday returns
Orders placed Nov 1 to Dec 31 can be returned until Jan 31, 2027, for FBA and seller-fulfilled orders alike. Budget for a slower, larger return wave.
Seller Central News, 2026 holiday return policy2027
Next annual fee update
Not announced as of Oct 24, 2026. Amazon says it gives at least 90 days' notice, and the 2026 changes were announced in October 2025.
Amazon, 2026 US referral and FBA fee update
Section 04
By the numbers
Four figures worth knowing this week. Each one is Amazon's own, linked to where they said it.
Brand Registry roles that can use Reporter Assistant: Rights Owner and Registered Agent
Seller Central News, Report intellectual property infringement with AI-powered helpof live answers at Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant on Nov 18, 8 AM to 5 PM PT
Seller Forums, Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflowskinds of pre-built Seller Assistant automations, from pricing to account health
Seller Forums, Automate with Seller Assistantcore tools in Amazon Ads MCP Server (Lite) before an agent loads the rest
Amazon Ads, unBoxed 2026Section 05
The playbook
3 moves for this week, then a few quick ones for the train.
Tools
Ask Seller Assistant for a chart, not a paragraph
Seller Assistant now answers some questions with Visual Canvas, an interactive workspace of live charts, scenario comparisons and recommendations that reshapes itself as you ask follow-ups. Amazon says it draws on your real-time business data plus its own category-level intelligence.
The useful part is the follow-up. Ask why sales slowed on one product and you get benchmarks and possible causes, then you can filter and push further in the same conversation instead of exporting a report you'll never open again.
Do this: Pick the one product whose November numbers worry you and ask Seller Assistant for a visual of why its sales slowed. Then ask what it would change first.
- Compare profitability across discount levels side by side
- Find categories with strong Q4 demand that fit your brand
- Diagnose why sales slowed, with benchmarks and root causes
- Chart your promotion strategy against similar products in the category
From Amazon's Seller Forums post introducing Visual Canvas in Seller Assistant.
Source: Seller Forums, Seller Assistant's Visual Canvas
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceOperations
Put a night watchman on your best sellers through Black Friday
Seller Assistant automations start from a sentence. Describe the task in plain language and it builds the workflow, with pre-built options for pricing analysis, product expansion, orders and returns, and account health monitoring. You decide whether it only recommends actions for your review or carries them out, and every action is logged.
Amazon's own holiday example is a good template: monitor your top sellers daily through Black Friday and alert you with a suggestion when stock will run out, sales are rising or a listing is underperforming. Start in recommend mode. Promote it to doing things once its suggestions stop surprising you.
Do this: Ask Seller Assistant to watch your top five ASINs daily through Black Friday and send suggestions only. Read the log on Monday.
From Amazon's Seller Forums post on Seller Assistant automations. Every action is logged either way.
Source: Seller Forums, Automate with Seller Assistant
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceEvents
Nine hours of Amazon answering questions. Ask yours early.
The Seller Assistant product team is hosting Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflows in the Seller Forums on Wednesday, November 18, from 8 AM to 5 PM PT. That's 11 AM to 8 PM Eastern. You don't have to be there live: Amazon says questions submitted early will still be answered.
Come with specifics, because Amazon itself says the more specific the question, the better the answer. Its own examples include asking why an ASIN is suppressed and how to fix it, and setting up a weekly Account Health check every Monday morning.
Do this: Write down the two times Seller Assistant got something wrong for you this month and post them in the event thread before November 18.
Source: Seller Forums, Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflows
- Hour 08 AM PT, the product team starts answering
- Hour 95 PM PT, live answers end
From Amazon's Seller Forums event post. The thread already accepts questions, and early questions will be answered.
Source: Seller Forums, Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflows
Data desk by XENA IntelligenceQuick hits
04Account
Your assistant is only as smart as your intern is allowed to be
If you're a secondary user on someone else's Seller Central account, your permission level decides what Seller Assistant can see for you, from account health and inventory levels to sales trends and personalized recommendations. Amazon says the primary account holder can fix it under Settings, then User Permissions, then Manage Employees, by clicking Edit next to your name. Once saved, Seller Assistant can pull account-specific data right away.
Source: Seller Forums, Account permissions and Seller Assistant
05Advertising
Ads now follow the faucet into the garage
One unBoxed 2026 format got little attention: Sponsored Services, which connects shoppers with qualified local service providers on Amazon, with Yelp as the anchor partner for home and local services. Amazon's example is a smart touchless faucet that sits in the garage because it needs a professional to install it. If your product needs installing, someone may soon be advertising the installation next to it.
For brands that run their own AI agents, Amazon also announced Amazon Ads MCP Server (Lite), which starts with three core tools and loads more only when needed, and the AMC Expert Tool, which turns plain-language questions into Amazon Marketing Cloud queries.
Source: Amazon Ads, unBoxed 2026
Section 06
The wire
What changed lately, straight from Amazon. We read the announcement so you can read the summary.
- Brand Registry
Reporter Assistant joins Report Infringement
Rights Owners and Registered Agents get step-by-step AI help choosing the infringement type, evidence and reporting path. Standard review is unchanged.
via Seller Central News, Report intellectual property infringement with AI-powered help - AI tools
Seller Assistant automations, explained
Describe a repeat task in plain language, choose recommend or execute, and review the log. Pre-built options cover pricing, returns and account health.
via Seller Forums, Automate with Seller Assistant - AI tools
Seller Assistant adds Visual Canvas
Ask a business question and get live charts and scenario comparisons you can filter and act on in the same conversation.
via Seller Forums, Seller Assistant's Visual Canvas
Follow for more
Tomorrow's tip, in your inbox before your coffee cools
One short email when a new issue lands. Amazon's news without the press-release voice, and one move worth making that week. No upsells, no "ultimate guides."
Section 07
Straight answers
The questions sellers are typing into search bars and chatbots this week, answered in under a minute each. Every answer is grounded in Amazon's own announcement, linked below it.
What is Amazon Reporter Assistant?
Reporter Assistant is an AI-powered helper in Amazon Brand Registry's Report Infringement form. It gives step-by-step guidance on choosing the correct infringement type, understanding required evidence, confirming your reporting path and fixing form errors before you submit, so intellectual property reports are complete the first time.
Source: Seller Central News, Report intellectual property infringement with AI-powered help
Who can use Reporter Assistant on Amazon?
Amazon says Brand Registry users who have Rights Owner or Registered Agent permissions can use Reporter Assistant. To start, go to Report Infringement and click Ask Reporter Assistant. You can type your own questions or choose from suggested prompts at any step of the report.
Source: Seller Central News, Report intellectual property infringement with AI-powered help
Does Reporter Assistant change how Amazon reviews infringement reports?
No. Amazon says using Reporter Assistant does not change the case resolution process, and all reports remain subject to standard review. It helps you file an accurate, complete report and lowers the chance of a rejected notice, but the decision still follows Amazon's usual review.
Source: Seller Central News, Report intellectual property infringement with AI-powered help
What is Visual Canvas in Seller Assistant?
Visual Canvas lets Seller Assistant answer business questions with an interactive workspace of live charts, scenario comparisons and recommendations. It uses your real-time business data and Amazon's category-level intelligence, and it updates as you ask follow-up questions, so you can explore, filter and act in one conversation.
Can Seller Assistant automate tasks for Amazon sellers?
Yes. You describe a task in plain language and Seller Assistant builds the automation. You choose whether it recommends actions for review or executes them directly, and every action is logged. Pre-built automations cover pricing analysis, product expansion, orders and returns, and account health monitoring.
Why can’t Seller Assistant see my account data?
If you are a secondary user, your permission level controls what Seller Assistant can access. The primary account holder can update it in Settings, then User Permissions, then Manage Employees, by clicking Edit next to your name. Once saved, Seller Assistant can pull account-specific data right away.
Source: Seller Forums, Account permissions and Seller Assistant
When is Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant?
Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflows runs in the Seller Forums on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, from 8 AM to 5 PM Pacific time. The Seller Assistant product team answers questions live, and Amazon says questions submitted early in the event thread will still be answered.
Source: Seller Forums, Ask Amazon: Seller Assistant, Canvas and Workflows