Amazon’s Alexa Set For Radical Overhaul: What to Know

Amazon is set to release an upgraded artificial intelligence version of home assistant Alexa later this month, according to reports.

The update will rely heavily on generative AI, in a potentially high-risk, high-reward move from one of the industry’s largest players, say Reuters.

Newsweek contacted Amazon for more information on the product via email.

Why It Matters

Amazon was one of the main accelerators of the home assistant industry when the Echo first launched in 2014. An update that takes advantage of breakthroughs in generative artificial intelligence could have a similar effect on the market, but the technology remains inconsistent in many areas, making the update a gamble.

What To Know

Alexa already uses machine learning and AI but the revamped version is expected to use new generation large language models (LLMs) enabling a vocal version of the types of conversations generated by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, so it could carry risks of hallucinations associated with current AI models.

Panos Panay, head of Amazon’s devices and services team, is expected to unveil the revamped Alexa at a press conference on February 26 in New York, according to Reuters, who cited “three people familiar with the matter.” The latest AI-driven Alexa represents both a substantial opportunity and a formidable challenge for Amazon.

With more than half a billion Alexa-enabled devices in the market, the company hopes the upgrade will transform the voice assistant into a more interactive and intuitive platform, capable of handling multi-turn conversations and acting autonomously on users’ behalf.

Amazon's Alexa — A close-up of a smartphone display showing the Amazon Alexa app, Lafayette, California, December 5, 2021.

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Despite Alexa’s widespread adoption, Amazon has struggled to monetize the service, which has remained an unprofitable segment of its business. The revamped Alexa could change that equation, with the company exploring a potential subscription model priced between $5 and $10 per month.

Initially, the new AI-powered version will be released to a limited number of users for free, while the current iteration, referred to as Classic Alexa, will continue to be available without a subscription. Amazon has ceased adding new features to Classic Alexa, signaling a shift in focus toward the new AI-driven platform.

Company executives are set to hold a pivotal “Go/No-go” meeting on February 14 to assess the generative AI Alexa’s readiness for launch, according to an internal planning document reviewed by Reuters.

The rollout follows delays due to concerns about the speed and accuracy of AI responses—an issue that has plagued other generative AI systems, including those from OpenAI and Alphabet.

What People Are Saying

Rohit Prasad, head scientist for Amazon Alexa, said in 2019: “Before Echo ushered in the convenience of voice-enabled ambient computing, customers were used to searches on desktops and mobile phones, where the onus was entirely on them to sift through blue links to find answers to their questions or connect to services. While app stores on phones offered ‘there’s an app for that’ convenience, the cognitive load on customers continued to increase.

“Alexa-powered Echo broke these human-machine interaction paradigms, shifting the cognitive load from customers to AI and causing a tectonic shift in how customers interact with a myriad services, find information on the Web, control smart appliances, and connect with other people.”

Reuters technology correspondent Greg Bensinger wrote in his report: “The new generative AI-powered Alexa represents at once a huge opportunity for Amazon, which counts more than half a billion Alexa-enabled devices in the market, and a tremendous risk. Amazon is hoping the revamp, designed to be able to converse with users, can convert some of its hundreds of millions of users into paying customers in an effort to generate a return for the unprofitable business.”