On Wednesday, Amazon officially unveiled its voice assistant’s artificial intelligence (AI) version. Known as Alexa+, it now has agentic capabilities, contextual awareness, improved management over smart home products, and is tailored to a user’s activity. Alexa+ will be offered both separately and in conjunction with an Amazon Prime membership. The tech behemoth first declared its intention to develop an AI-powered voice assistant in 2023, but according to a June 2024 report, the corporation was having trouble giving Alexa AI skills.
Alexa+ Voice Assistant Unveiled by Amazon
Panos Panay, SVP of Devices & Services at Amazon, revealed the AI-powered Alexa update in a press article. After working for Microsoft for 19 years and contributing to the development of the company’s Surface products, Panay joined the e-commerce behemoth in October 2023. According to reports, Amazon hired him to manage the Alexa+ project. According to Panay, the generative AI-powered Alexa+ improves the voice assistant’s current capabilities and makes it more “conversational, smarter, and personalised.”
It can interact with users, answer questions, and perform tasks involving smart home appliances. According to The Verge, Alexa+ is a system that is independent of models. This implies that although it has the Amazon Nova model as a base upon which to develop its architecture, it may also use Amazon Bedrock to select third-party AI models that are most appropriate for a certain purpose. According to reports, the business emphasised how Alexa+ makes use of Anthropic’s extensive language models.
Additionally, Alexa+ has agentic capabilities. On the user’s behalf, the voice assistant can perform online tasks. For example, a user can instruct Alexa to mend their oven, and it will look up suitable service providers online, authenticate, schedule the repair, and notify the user of the specifics. According to Amazon, the user won’t need to monitor its operations because the entire procedure would be automated.
Alexa+ is also improving personalisation. In order to learn delivery addresses, payment preferences, and the material that users usually watch, the AI-powered voice assistant may access user activity across all Amazon services. Users can also instruct the voice assistant to remember specific information, such dietary requirements, important dates, and more. Alexa will keep this in mind and adjust its subsequent responses accordingly.
Additionally, Alexa+ will enhance the voice assistant’s control over smart home appliances. It may now alert users in advance if someone has dropped by their house or if a shipment has been delivered. Additionally, it has the ability to recall and carry out commands at a specific moment.
According to Panay, customers will be able to access Alexa+ anywhere voice assistants are available. Additionally, a new website and app for the generative AI-based voice assistant are being released for iOS and Android. Users would be able to initiate a conversation on one platform and carry it on another once they are synchronised.
The Alexa+ speech assistant will be made available by Amazon in a few weeks. Early access to the AI-powered voice assistant will be available in the US during the initial rollout. Prior to being extended to further devices and platforms, it will initially be accessible on the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21. Alexa+ will cost $19.99 (about Rs. 1,740) per month for users to access. Those who currently have an Amazon Prime membership, however, will receive it for free.
CREDIT: Gadget360, Allneeds
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