THE CEO of Amazon has confirmed that an advanced version of a beloved tech item will be available everywhere in just months.
Tests for the gadget have been ongoing around the United States, and there’s a way to avoid a $19.99 monthly fee to use it.
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Amazon notified consumers about Alexa+, the next-generation and AI-infused version of the personal assistant in February through a news release.
Except, it had been previously unveiled at an AI event in New York last year.
Alexa+ offers enhanced conversations and the ability for Alexa to handle more tasks and offer personalized recommendations.
Millions of customers and Amazon Prime members have had early access to Alexa+ since the end of March, specifically those who bought an Echo Show 8, 15, or 21, per Amazon’s website.
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Even non-members who bought the devices could have early access, except it costs them $19.99 per month.
COMING SOON
In an earnings call on Thursday, CEO Andy Jassy explained that not only is a Prime membership the only way to get around the fee currently, but that the e-commerce giant is still hard at work getting Alexa+ rolled out completely in the United States.
“We’ve been rolling out Alexa+ starting in the US — it’s with millions of customers now,” Jassy told investors.
“The rest in the US [is] coming in the next couple of months, and starting the international rollout more broadly late in the year.”
The CEO also noted that, so far, consumers have “really liked the experience” and “recognize how much better it is than what it was before.”
“The ratings are very high, the usage is much more expansive than what they were using before…I think there are a number of different areas where we’ll see benefit,” he continued.
“I think first, you know, if you build the world’s best personal assistant, that has a lot of utility for customers and therefore gets used a lot.”
Jassy also suggested that “advertising could play a role” with Alexa+, meaning users could see personalized ads with it coming soon.
He also teased a subscription element for Alexa+ “beyond what there is today,” but did not provide any more details.
“The Alexa+ experience is so much better, I think, than our prior Alexa experience,” Jassy told investors.
What is Alexa?
If you’ve never heard of Alexa, here’s what you need to know…
- Alexa is an “intelligent” personal assistant built by Amazon.
- You can find her on several different devices, including Amazon’s Echo speakers.
- Alexa responds to voice commands, and can talk back to you.
- She can perform thousands of different tasks, including telling you about the news or weather.
- But she can do more complex things too, like ordering a pizza or arranging an Uber taxi pick-up.
- To activate Alexa, you need to say “Alexa” to an Amazon Echo speaker.
- Because she’s powered by artificial intelligence, Alexa is constantly getting smarter.
- Alexa will also get more used to your voice, and better understand what you want her to do over time.
“She’s much more intelligent than her prior selves — she’s much more capable.”
“And I would say, unlike the other chatbots that are out there today who are good at answering questions, but can’t really take any action for you, Alexa+ can take a lot of action for you, which is very compelling,” the CEO added.
HELPING HAND
Alexa+ helps create at-home routines like turning on lights, the TV, starting the coffee maker, and more, for example.
Customer preferences are also remembered and so are conversations, so they can be made at home through Echo devices and Fire TV but also the app when on the go.
There’s even Alexa.com, meaning the AI assistant will be accessible through most web browsers on Mac and PC.
Jassy also used the example of listening to a song that’s featured in a movie, and asking Alexa+ to take him to the specific movie scene where its played, as an example of its capability.
In May, Jassy also said that Amazon was working to have Alexa+ garner a 90% multi-step task accuracy rate.
Amazon also quietly raised costs recently on around 1,200 of the “cheapest household goods,” and shoppers can get the same items for about 2% less at Walmart.
The US Sun also has a complete list of the device deals at Amazon this summer.
