Former senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, David Limp, made charges for a more advanced version of Alexa last year. According to a source, Alexa’s enhanced AI version on Amazon may cost an additional $5 to $10 a month on top of your Prime membership.
According to sources, Amazon is making a “desperate attempt” to revamp the voice assistant by planning to release the new Alexa in August. Users may not have to mention “Alexa” every time they speak to the assistant in the premium edition of the app. According to reports, it will be able to perform several tasks in one command, including sending a quick email and placing an Uber Eats takeout order.
The more sophisticated Alexa might also have the capacity to “learn” from customers and establish routines, such as turning on a customer’s coffee maker when their alarm goes off, according to Reuters. This is consistent with a CNBC story from last month that stated Amazon intended to launch an Alexa subscription service apart from Prime.
That does not imply that Amazon will stop offering Alexa for free. Report points out that although Amazon would place a more sophisticated Alexa behind a paywall, the company still intends to replace the entry-level model with one that incorporates additional generative AI functions. According to reports, clients can ask the AI Alexa for purchasing suggestions, such what kind of hat and gloves to pack for a mountain climbing vacation. That is comparable to the kind of information that Amazon’s AI shopping chatbot, Rufus, can offer.
When contacted for comment, Amazon released the following statement: “We are working hard on implementation at scale — in the over half a billion ambient, Alexa-enabled devices already in homes around the world — to enable even more proactive, personal, and trusted assistance for our customers.” We have already integrated generative AI into different components of Alexa.
To stay competitive with AI chatbots like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft, Amazon has been working to update its AI assistant during the past year. With a redesigned Siri coming to iOS 18, even Apple has entered the AI fray. By saying, “Alexa, let’s chat,” users can join the waitlist for Amazon’s upcoming AI, Alexa, for which the company has already begun testing several features.