Amazon Alexa-powered Echo Smart Speaker.
Credit: REUTERS FILE PHOTO
In May, reports emerged that Amazon mulling plans to monetise Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered Alexa assistant service. But, there was no details, when it will happen.
Now, the company has finalised a subscription plan and is expected to roll out the service in October, reported The Washington Post, citing Amazon's internal document.
Alexa made its debut a decade ago on November 6, 2014 with Echo smart speakers. It has been one of the most popular digital assistants in the industry, but there have been no significant improvements.
Though it is better than Apple Siri, lately with the emergence of generative Artificial Intelligence (gen AI) technology, it is lagging behind Google's Gemini AI and OpenAI's ChatGPT-4o. They can understand queries in multiple formats-- videos, audio, images and texts.
As the beloved digital assistant celebrates its 10th anniversary (November 6, 2024), Amazon's upcoming update will bring a booster dose of gen AI tech to enhance the capabilities of Alexa and make it relevant again, be on par or better than rival digital assistants.
It will be able to offer AI-based curated news summary every morning or at the scheduled time every day. Also, it will study user pattern over time and offer personalised suggestions to all queries.
Amazon Alexa-powered Echo Dot 4th Gen.
DH Photo/KVN Rohit
These are some of the many features that will be coming to Alexa in October.
However, to access the new Alexa assistant, the customers have subscribe it separately. It won't be included in Amazon Prime plan. Alexa AI service is likely to be priced around $10 per month.
The internal document also sheds light on Project Metis. It is said to be Amazon’s web-based ChatGPT competitor. And, it is also expected to launch alongside the rejuvenated Alexa assistant in October.
In a related development, Amazon has launched Rufus, a gen AI-based assistant on its e-commerce platform in India.
Rufus was first launched earlier this year in February in select markets including the US. It is similar to Alexa on Echo smart speakers at home. It will be able to do the heavy work of researching a product the customer wants to buy.
It can also help with comparing an item of different brands and this way, he/she can make an informed decision to buy it or not.
For now, Rufus is being made available to select customers when they next update their Amazon shopping app. To use Rufus, customers in the beta can simply click on the icon in the bottom right-hand corner on Amazon’s mobile app and a Rufus chat dialogue box will appear on the screen. Customers can expand the chat dialogue box to see answers to their queries.
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