Amazon wants the Alexa voice assistant to be made available in as many devices as possible, and this week that expanded to vehicles, but in a unique new way.
Amazon has launched Alexa Custom Assistant, which allows car makers to take advantage of Alexa's AI, but hidden underneath a "unique wake word, voice, skills, and capabilities." By offering Alexa in this way, car companies can take the time to record their own voice to represent the intelligent assistant within their vehicles. The skills offered can also be limited to those which suit the environment of a vehicle, but also can create their own specific to the brand.
As Alexa Custom Assistant builds on top of Alexa's core systems, it still allows easy access to key features including local search, weather, timers, and alarms. At the same time, the underlying system can continue to be updated and improved by Amazon, so car owners using the system get the best of both worlds: Alexa's intelligence and a unique voice assistant experience.
The first customer for Alexa Custom Assistant in Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). "Our customers expect to easily connect with their digital lifestyles wherever they go and today we responded with plans to offer new intelligent experiences built on Alexa’s world-class voice AI technology," said Mark Stewart, Chief Operating Officer, FCA - North America. "We look forward to the expanding partnership with Amazon and the integration of Alexa Custom Assistant within our powerful Uconnect system as we continue on our path to put customer needs and expectations at the center of everything we do."
FCA is only in the planning stages, and as they are the first to adopt the system, it's going to be a while before we see a new vehicle launch with a custom Alexa experience offered. Amazon is making the custom assistant available anywhere Alexa is supported, including the US, Canada, UK, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, and Brazil to begin with.