(Credit: Amazon)
Goodbye, old Alexa and your stiff AI interactions. On Wednesday, Amazon introduced a new and improved “Alexa+” voice assistant that acts more like a human, thanks to advancements in generative AI.
We were at the event in New York, where the company demoed Alexa+, hyping it up as a voice assistant that understands the nuances of natural human conversation. In one demo, Amazon showed Alexa+ talking through an Echo Show 21 smart display and sounding more like a TikTok influencer than a monotone voice assistant.
“She’s smarter than she’s ever been before. But she’s also approachable, which is so important,” said Panos Panay, Amazon’s head for devices and services. “That intimidation factor of AI is gone. She’s useful. She can plan a date, book the restaurant, and text the sitter.”
But Alexa+ will only be free if you're an Amazon Prime subscriber. Otherwise, you'll pay $19.99 per month for access. The original Alexa will also continue to exist.
"Alexa+ will start rolling out in the US in the next few weeks, and subsequently in waves in the coming months starting with households with Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21," the company added. "If you don’t yet have one of these devices, you can buy one today to be among the first to get early access to Alexa+ as it becomes available." During the early access period, Alexa+ will also be free.
The company upgraded Alexa by harnessing a whole collection of the latest large language models for what’s called a “model agnostic system.” The result means Alexa+ can choose from several models to fulfill the user’s request.
It also means the revamped digital assistant promises to possess a wide range of capabilities, including the ability to remember and act on your preferences. In one demo, the company showed that Alexa+ could also use an Echo device’s camera to recognize its surroundings and the crowd at the New York event.
In addition, the improved voice assistant is smart enough to stream music from one smart speaker to another if you request it to “play the music upstairs” or “play the music everywhere, but don’t wake the baby.”
Like other generative AI programs, Alexa+ can set reminders and search through any documents or emails you’ve shared to quickly provide a summary or look up the desired information. This can include helping you find out what your HOA guidelines say about solar panels, the company said as an example.
Amazon executives conceded that earlier versions of Alexa offered a hit-or-miss experience. The voice assistant, which is embedded in Echo smart devices, can suffer from awkward and stiff interactions because it can't always understand the full context of a command or request.
As a result, many users have resorted to “Alexa Speak,” carefully wording their requests to Amazon's voice assistant rather than using natural language, Panay said. But that’s all changed with the arrival of generative AI models.
(Credit: PCMag)“Every once in a while a technology comes around, and it changes literally everything. The creation of gen AI and chatbots has shaken up everything,” he said.
The company plans on rolling out early access to Alexa+ next month. For now, it'll only be available in English.
Amazon also created a dedicated page for the next-generation virtual assistant. It notes: "When you get access to Alexa+ by owning or purchasing an Echo Show 8, 10, 15 or 21, it will be available on all Echo devices, with the exception of certain older generation Echo devices like Echo Dot 1st Gen, Echo 1st Gen, Echo Plus 1st Gen, Echo Tap, Echo Show 1st Gen, Echo Show 2nd Gen, and Echo Spot 1st Gen, where you can continue to use the original Alexa."