On Wednesday, Amazon introduced a new and improved “Alexa+” voice assistant that acts more like a human, thanks to advancements in generative AI.
As PCMag reports, at the NYC event where Amazon demoed Alexa+, the company hyped 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 here’s the catch: Alexa+ will only be free if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. Otherwise you can expect to pay $19.99 per month for access. Don’t worry if you decide to opt out of the upgrade. – the original Alexa will also continue to stick around.
“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 has upgraded Alexa by harnessing not one, but 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+ can 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 has been embedded across Echo smart devices, can suffer from awkward and stiff interactions since 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.
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