Amazon to launch AI-enhanced Alexa subscription in October

Summary

Amazon plans to release a paid version of its Alexa voice assistant with advanced AI features this October. The upgraded Alexa aims to compete with newer AI assistants from companies like OpenAI and Google.

Internal documents obtained by The Washington Post reveal that the new Alexa, known internally as “Remarkable Alexa” or “Project Banyan,” will offer several AI-powered capabilities.

A key feature is “Smart Briefing,” which will provide personalized daily news summaries generated by AI. This feature is being developed despite concerns about AI’s accuracy in handling political news, especially with the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

The subscription could cost up to $10 per month, though the current “classic Alexa” will remain free. Amazon executives are expected to finalize pricing, subscription structure, and product name this month.

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The improved Alexa is reportedly designed to be more conversational and engaging. It will learn to recognize individual voices and ask users about their preferences to provide more tailored assistance. Other new features include improved recipe recommendations and AI-powered shopping tools.

Amazon is also developing a web-based product called Project Metis, intended to compete directly with ChatGPT-style LLM-tools. This move comes as Amazon faces pressure to keep pace with AI advancements from competitors.

The company has invested $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic but is also developing its own large language model, Olympus. Amazon aims for Olympus to surpass Anthropic’s Claude model, with early reports suggesting it has “hundreds of billions of parameters.” But we haven’t heard from Olympus lately.

The launch of the new Alexa has been delayed, with internal documents initially targeting a September 2024 release. The current mid-October timeline indicates it has taken over a year to bring the project to market since its announcement in September 2023.

While Amazon hasn’t publicly disclosed Alexa’s financial performance, reports suggest the company’s devices business, which includes Alexa, has been losing money. The subscription model and enhanced e-commerce features of the new Alexa could help Amazon recoup some of its investment.

Amazon declined to comment on the information in the leaked documents.