Unlocking the Future: Amazon Alexa’s Exciting Upgrade for the AI Chatbot Revolution | CNN Business

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Amazon introduced a new version of Alexa called Alexa+ on Wednesday. This upgrade aims to elevate the voice assistant into the age of artificial intelligence.

Alexa+ offers a more natural interaction style and can remember user preferences. It can also perform tasks like booking concert tickets. The service costs $19.99 a month but is free for Amazon Prime members, with early access starting next month.

This update is Amazon’s response to the rise of AI-powered virtual assistants like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, which have gained popularity since 2022.

Amazon is in a race with competitors to develop AI agents. These agents promise to handle tasks for users, such as shopping or organizing household chores.

Alexa+ plays a crucial role in this strategy, enhancing Alexa to meet the demands of modern AI technologies.

Amazon highlights how Alexa+ can personalize responses by considering the apps and services users prefer. This approach sets it apart from other chatbots, although Apple and Google are also heading in a similar direction.

In a recent demo, Alexa+ showcased its abilities by tracking a user’s reading progress, making dinner reservations, and notifying them about ticket sales for favorite artists.

Alexa achieves this by recalling information from users’ past interactions and connected apps, tailored to their preferences.

The upgraded Alexa can even respond to users’ surroundings. For instance, during a presentation, Amazon’s device chief, Panos Panay, asked if the audience looked engaged and received a lively assessment in return.

Alexa+ is designed to understand context better and use more natural language. Instead of a simple command, users could say, “Play music but don’t wake the baby.”

Panay mentioned that this upgrade utilizes cutting-edge technologies like generative AI and large language models, which are powering many modern AI applications.

He acknowledged that while the vision for Alexa has been ambitious, technological limitations hindered its full potential until now.

Other companies are on similar paths. Apple is enhancing Siri to make it more personalized, while Google aims for its Gemini assistant to function as a task-doing agent. Amazon’s timely upgrade helps it stay competitive in the voice assistant market.

Panay also shared that Alexa+ adapts its responses based on the user’s tone and surroundings.

The original Echo surprised everyone with its success back in 2014. However, Amazon has faced challenges in monetizing its hardware in the years that followed.

Amazon initially hoped that Echo users would make more purchases through the device. But many people mostly use it for simple tasks like setting alarms or streaming music, leading to significant losses in its Echo division, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Alexa+ represents an effort to turn this trend around.

As generative AI chatbots began dominating the scene in late 2022, traditional voice assistants like Alexa faced new challenges.

Nevertheless, Alexa has an advantage: it integrates seamlessly with various Amazon devices, including Fire TVs and Ring cameras. Users can check on things happening in their homes or ask about the dog. If successful, Alexa+ could encourage more users to subscribe to Amazon Prime, which costs $15 a month.

Amazon showcased this long-awaited update earlier in 2023 during an event in New York City.

This story has been updated with additional information and context.