Amazon is undertaking an artificial intelligence-driven overhaul of its Alexa voice assistant and intends to implement a monthly subscription fee to cover technology expenses, CNBC reported on Wednesday.
The online retail giant aims to launch a more conversational iteration of the voice assistant later this year, positioning itself to better compete with AI-powered chatbots from Microsoft and Alphabet’s Google, as per individuals familiar with Amazon’s strategies cited in the report.
The subscription for Alexa services will not be bundled with the company’s $139 Prime offering, and Amazon has yet to finalize the pricing for the new services.
The report notes that the company plans to leverage its own Titan large language model for the upgrade.
Although Amazon introduced Alexa in 2014, it has struggled to consistently monetize the platform, often driving users to its website for additional purchases.
Last September, the company incorporated generative artificial intelligence into the Alexa voice assistant to enhance user engagement. However, in November, it reduced its workforce in the Alexa voice assistant unit by “several hundred” jobs.
Meanwhile, Apple is reportedly exploring the integration of generative artificial intelligence features into its Siri virtual assistant.
The CNBC report coincides with the recent unveiling of a new AI model called GPT-4o by OpenAI, which allows users to engage in real-time conversations with ChatGPT without latency and enables interruptions—a significant advancement compared to older AI assistants, which struggle to handle such interactions.
