A Amazon is preparing a major update for its voice assistant Alexa, with integration of generative artificial intelligence. According to information from the CNBC channel, the retail and technology giant plans to charge a monthly subscription fee to cover the costs of this new technology, which will not be included in the Prime offer.
Scheduled to be launched this year, the new Alexa will have the ability to “converse” more naturally, positioning itself better in the competitive virtual assistant market, which already has chatbots advanced technologies from companies like Google and OpenAI. Although the subscription price has not yet been defined, the expectation is that the improvements will justify consumers’ investment.
Initially revolutionary, Alexa impressed with its voice command capabilities in 2014, the year it hit the market. However, with rapid advances in artificial intelligence, its functionalities have started to seem outdated. The arrival of Andy Jassy as CEO of Amazon in 2021 brought a change in internal priorities, meaning that Alexa was no longer a star in the company.
According to CNBC, Jassy, who is a huge sports fan, had a frustrating experience when Alexa was unable to provide the live score for a recent game, highlighting the device’s limitations. This realization led to a significant reorganization of the device team, with many members being transferred to Amazon’s general artificial intelligence division. Some of them told the channel that the feeling was that Alexa was a great idea, “but launched too early”, and that it would now be difficult to “change the course of the ship”.
But Amazon is determined to make Alexa relevant again. In his annual letter to shareholders, Jassy mentioned that the company is developing a substantial number of generative AI applications across Amazon’s consumer sectors, including an “even smarter and more capable” version of the virtual assistant.
* With EXAM information
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