I Saw a Live Demo of Alexa's Big New AI Update

2 weeks ago 3

Amazon's Alexa is going to be able to do more than just talk back and do basic commands after a big new update, Amazon announced Wednesday.

Amazon unveiled the new generation of Alexa at an event in New York. The next generation of the assistant is powered by generative AI and promises a smarter, more conversational, approachable -- and most importantly, proactive -- virtual assistant.

"She's smarter than she's ever been before, but she's also approachable," Amazon's Devices and Services Team Lead Panos Panay, said during the event.

The new generation of Amazon Alexa, called Alexa Plus, can book dinner reservations, set reminders on your calendar, order and send gifts to loved ones and learn your routine and likes and dislikes over time to better serve you and those in your household, among other changes, Panay said.

During a live demo, the new Alexa told Panay, "I'm not just an assistant, I'm your new best friend in the digital world. I've got jokes, smarts and a genuine desire to make your life easier and more fun."

Panay emphasized that the new generation is "something that can actually take action."

Alexa Plus can also control your smart home by monitoring your security cameras, dimming lights or turning them on or off at certain times of the day, playing music and controlling your smart TV. During the demo, Alexa also played a song and was able to move from various speakers when asked, then because it was a song from a movie (Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper from A Star is Born), Panay asked Alexa to then play the scene from the movie on the smart TV on the stage -- and it complied.

"The new Alexa knows almost every instrument in your life," Panay said. He also demonstrated how it was able to sort through his home security videos and determine the last time his dog was walked or he received a delivery at his home. Alexa is continuing to grow in popularity, according to Panay, who stated that in 2024, people were using Alexa 20% more than in 2023.

Alexa Plus is $20 a month, but free if you're a Prime member, and it will start to roll out next month, Panay said. With Alexa Plus, you will also get to use the upcoming Alexa.com.

However, according to a recent CNET survey, only 23% of participants said they would pay more for additional AI features in voice assistants, so only time will tell if this stands in the way of Alexa Plus given that many Alexa owners are also Prime members.

Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo, demonstrated Alexa Plus and said the update doesn't only work with Amazon products. It will pair with partners, including UberEats, Spotify, Dyson, Ticketmaster, Grubhub, OpenTable and more.

Before Panay took the stage to make the Alexa upgrade announcement, Andy Jassy, Amazon's president and CEO, highlighted Amazon's AI uses they have already implemented, such as Rufus, a shopping assistant on Amazon and Amazon Bedrock. Jassy said Amazon has more than 1,000 Generative AI programs currently in use or being built.

"New experiences that we only dreamed of before are going to be possible with generative AI," Jassy said, adding that the company uses AI "to solve real customer problems."

Jassy also teased even more Amazon updates on the horizon, when "drones will get packages to customers in less than an hour eventually."

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