Amazon will soon ask customers for Alexa to checkout
Amazon reacts to the boom of the AI chatbots and introduces a new generation of his assistance software Alexa, which can talk to users. An advantage compared to other programs is that Alexa knew contacts, dates and habits, said Amazon's head of device Panos Panay. This should make it more useful. The new Alexa could also recognize the mood of the users and go into it.
Amazon calls the new version with more AI functions « Alexa+ ». It will be free for customers of Amazon's Prime subscription. Otherwise, Amazon wants $ 19.99 a month. The new version will initially only be available in the USA, there is still no schedule for Europe. Amazon only says that the software is gradually introduced in all countries in which Alexa can currently be used.
Smarthome assistant
The control of devices in the networked at home should also become more natural with the new voice assistant, Panay promised. For example, one can say that Alexa should play music throughout the house, but not wake up the baby – the software will then skip the loudspeaker in the children's room.
Amazon's head of the Panos Panay, the new voice assistant Alexa, who can talk to users. Photo: Andrej Sokolow/dpa
There are also new possibilities in connection with the security cameras of the company Ring, which is also part of Amazon. So you can ask Alexa questions about what has happened around the house in the past few days: for example whether packages were delivered or someone has carried out the dog.
« AI agent » as a future
In conversations, it should also be possible to reserve a table in the restaurant – and also book a trip there. For such functions, Alexa is connected to the services of different apps – and should become a uniform user interface.
Amazon sees the future in so-called AI agents, who can independently carry out several tasks on behalf of the users. The Alexa platform was completely placed on a new technical basis for the new version, emphasized Amazon manager Daniel Rausch.
Chatbots made Alexa look old
Alexa has been installed on more than 600 million devices so far, said Panay. And last year the use of the assistance software rose by 20 percent. Amazon was one of the pioneers with the voice assistants with Alexa, Apple was even earlier with Siri (2011) – but the linguistic skills of the new AI chatbots are massively putting the oldies in the shade.
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Other AI chatbots worked well – but they generally had no context about the everyday life of users or their home, emphasized Panay. This is the gap that Amazon wants to fill out.
Amazon boss Andy Jassy said that when generating AI content on a large scale, the costs get up very quickly. That is why the group developed its own AI chip, among other things. Amazon uses KI to summarize customer reviews and the management of the logistics centers.
