Amazon is planning to overhaul Alexa and include AI in its system. While this may sound quite exciting and cool to many, it comes with a catch - a monthly subscription fee meant to offset the cost of the development of the technology.
CNBC reported that the tech giant will be launching a "more controversial" version of Alexa in the present year. Perhaps, it would be competing with other tech giants who have their own AI-powered chatbots. Two familiar names that have already made AI technology a part of their companies include Google and OpenAI. CNBC noted that the said information was made available to them by a source who asked that his name be stricken out since the discussions were help in private.
When sought for a comment about its plan for Alexa, the company refused to give any comment.
Although Amazon continued to awe customers with the voice-driven Alexa, still the new AI technologies that are being introduced by Google and other companies exceed the capabilities of the old Alexa.
Just last week, OpenAI launched GPT-40. This has the capability of having two-way conversations that are way deeper than that of Alexa's, The Verge reported.
Previously, Business Insider already reported about the plan of Amazon to overhaul Alexa. The former SVP of devices and services mentioned to The Verge that the company was contemplating of charging for a more powerful Alexa.
The announcement of the company on Alexa's overhaul was seen by many as a threat to Alexa and Siri.
The Alexa division in Amazon has seen an increased pressure over recent months due to the development of new AI chatbots. While Alexa was considered as a "baby" of Jeff Bezos, it all changed when Andy Jassy became CEO in 2021.
During the pandemic, Jassy rightsized Amazon and when that happened, Alexa became a lesser priority.
A report noted an instance when Jassy was frustrated when Alexa did not know the answer when it was asked for a live score to a specific game.
When Amazon is being reached for a comment, it simply pointed to the annual shareholder letter that it released last month. In the said letter, Jassy said that the company was building "substantial number of GenAI applications across every Amazon consumer business." He also underscored that the new one would be "an even more intelligent and capable Alexa."
Now, the Alexa team in Amazon is given the challenge of making Alexa into a device that can compete with other AI generative applications.
