IBL News | New York
Aiming to catch up in generative AI for everyday users, Amazon will launch Alexa+ this month, its enhanced, re-architected AI virtual assistant, set to be “more conversational, helpful in booking concert tickets, coordinating calendars and suggesting food to be delivered.”
The e-commerce giant said that Alexa is undergoing its most significant overhaul since debuting in 2014, when it became a symbol of Amazon’s innovation.
Alexa+ will cost $19.99 a month or free for Amazon’s Prime customers (which costs $14.99 monthly). It will begin rolling out next month.
In recent years, Alexa has fallen behind other virtual assistants. Its growth has stagnated in the United States as people have been turning to the assistant for only a few main tasks, such as setting timers and alarms, playing music, and asking questions about the weather and sports scores.
At a demo event, Amazon executives demonstrated how Alexa+ could identify who was speaking and know the person’s preferences, such as favorite sports teams, musicians, and foods. They also showed how a device powered by Alexa+ can suggest a restaurant, book a reservation on OpenTable, order an Uber, and send a calendar invitation.
Bringing generative AI to Alexa faced challenges that a chatbot does not, such as serving multiple users in a household, needing to distinguish who is speaking, and personalizing the responses.
