Amazon on Wednesday announced a new version of its voice assistant Alexa, based largely on generative AI, called Amazon Plus.
Amazon says the new Alexa can answer questions like “How many books have I read this year?” but can also book a concert or a trip.
The voice assistant can even handle multiple questions in succession and remembers user preferences.
“The new Alexa knows almost everything in your life – your calendar, your smart home, your preferences, the devices you use and the people you know,” said Panos Panay, Amazon’s head of devices and services and formerly responsible for Microsoft’s hardware.
Alexa until now was primarily offered through Amazon’s smart speakers. Amazon is thus catching up with Alexa Plus. The voice assistant seemed obsolete since OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022.
Amazon first announced it would upgrade Alexa with AI in September 2023. But in June 2024, around when Apple announced its own Siri AI upgrade, reports emerged that Amazon had set its sights too high and several programmers had left.
For the technology, Amazon has partnered with the company Anthropic, in which it has invested $8 billion.
The current version, which the company calls Classic Alexa, will simply remain available for free. The new version requires a subscription.
The new version is compatible with existing Alexa devices, of which there are more than half a billion in use worldwide.
Emerce
Subscribers 0
Fans 0
Followers 0
Followers