Today at an Alexa event in New York, Amazon announced a significant overhaul of its Alexa voice assistant, integrating advanced generative AI capabilities to enhance user interaction.
The cost of Alexa+ will be $19.99/month, but free for Prime members.
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
According to Amazon, Alexa+ has a few core aspects.
- Conversational: Alexa+ engages in natural, flowing conversations that feel genuine, making it far more similar to ChatGPT. It understands context and meaning, creating seamless interactions with no precise “Alexa” language.
- Personalized: Another similarity to ChatGPT is that Alexa+ learns from you and the more you use it, the more personalized it gets— understanding everything from your favorite entertainment to your family’s dietary preferences, allergies, and weekly traditions.
- Gets things done: Alexa+ acts on your behalf, handling everything from date planning and gift shopping to travel arrangements and study help. From simple tasks to complex projects, it provides assistance you can trust.
- Even smarter: Alexa+ combines vast knowledge with an approachable personality, making generative AI feel natural and accessible. Helpful intelligence ready whenever and wherever you need it.
Alexa+ Demos — here's what it can do
This development signifies a strategic shift for Amazon, which has invested heavily in Alexa since its 2014 debut, aiming to embed the assistant across various devices and boost e-commerce sales.
During the Amazon event, Amazon's Panos Panay demoed the new Alexa+. The revamped assistant can do everything from book reservations and create morning routines for you. And it can remember your favorite food, movies and music.
During another demo, Panay asked really long questions of Alexa, and it was like a real conversation about nearby pizza places. From there, Alexa could make reservations or order takeout for you.
There's also a new feature called Alexicons, small icons at the bottom of the screen on Echo smart displays. These will change based on Alexa's reactions.
If you own a Echo Show, there's also a new smart home interface that's designed to make using your devices easier. Plus, you can use Alexa to make smart home routines more easily.
With over 500 million Alexa-enabled devices in use, this update presents both a substantial revenue opportunity and a considerable risk if user adoption does not meet expectations.
This move comes as Amazon faces increasing competition in the AI assistant market, with rivals like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Apple's Siri making strides in integrating advanced AI functionalities. The success of this AI-driven transformation of Alexa will be pivotal in determining Amazon's position in the evolving landscape of virtual assistants.
Alexa+ for entertainment
With Alexa+, users can now establish complex routines through simple voice commands, eliminating the need for manual setup via the app. This feature allows for personalized automation, enabling Alexa+ to assist seamlessly throughout the day.
Alexa+ offers improved music discovery capabilities. Users can search for songs with minimal information, such as recalling a tune from a TV show's credits without knowing the artist or title. Additionally, Alexa+ can suggest new music within preferred genres and facilitate seamless music transitions between rooms. Commands like "play the music upstairs" or "play the music everywhere, but don’t wake the baby" allow for dynamic control over multi-room audio setups.
The assistant's capabilities extend to media playback, particularly with Prime Video. Users can request specific scenes by describing details such as the actor, character, or a quote. For example, saying, "what’s that movie where Bradley Cooper sings a duet? Jump to that scene…" prompts Alexa Plus to locate and play the desired segment on Fire TV devices.
Alexa+ and Smart Home
Integrating with Ring security systems, Alexa Plus can provide summaries of detected events and display relevant footage on compatible Echo Show devices. This feature offers users an overview of daily activities, such as package deliveries or visits from service providers.
The integration with Ring’s Smart Video Search allows users to query specific events, like "Did someone take out the garbage bins?" or "When was the last time the dog went out for a walk?" enhancing home monitoring and security.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates..
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
