Amazon is revamping its Alexa voice assistant by incorporating generative AI capabilities, aiming to enhance its competitiveness against rivals like Google's Gemini and Microsoft-backed ChatGPT.
During an event in New York City Amazon's head of devices and services, Panos Panay, introduced Alexa+, a new version of the assistant that uses Amazon's own large language models, as well as those from Anthropic, a company in which Amazon has made significant investments. Alexa+ will be available for $19 per month, or free for Prime users.
Alexa+ introduces agentic AI features, allowing the assistant to perform tasks across multiple apps. Panay showcased various capabilities during a live demonstration, such as Alexa's ability to remember personal preferences, like dietary choices, and use that information for tasks like ordering food.
Additionally, Alexa+ can pull up video clips from Ring cameras, allowing users to see if their dog has been walked by family members.
The assistant also supports tasks like uploading documents for specific inquiries, asking about sports teams, or even booking an Uber ride for someone else.
Despite these improvements, Amazon's Alexa has historically struggled to revolutionize the smart home market, with the company investing $25 billion into the division without achieving its desired outcomes.
Following the announcement, Amazon's stock saw a 2% increase.
The company is investing heavily in generative AI, with plans to allocate more than $100 billion toward this technology in 2025, including new data centers and applications.
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