Amazon is gearing up to unveil enhanced capabilities for its Alexa voice assistant, incorporating generative artificial intelligence (AI), at an event scheduled for Wednesday. This move represents a significant update more than a decade after Alexa’s initial launch, which prompted a surge of investment in voice assistants.
While specific details remain limited, Amazon has confirmed the event will be held in New York and will focus on Alexa. Sources familiar with the matter have revealed a secret project, internally dubbed “Banyan”, is central to the unveiling. The project aims at making Alexa significantly more conversational, broadening its utility.
This initiative carries substantial weight within Amazon. Since Alexa’s debut in 2014, the company has invested billions in the technology. The goal has been to integrate the service across various devices and, ultimately, to drive sales through its primary e-commerce platform. Currently, Alexa operates as voice-controlled software within devices like smart speakers. It responds to user inquiries, plays music, sets timers, and manages home automation by linking internet-connected devices, facilitating actions like turning on lights via voice commands.
The enhanced Alexa AI service will be capable of responding to multiple prompts in sequence. Company executives have suggested it could even function as an “agent,” performing user actions without direct input. This capability represents a shift from the current version, which typically handles only single requests.
Sources have indicated executives have considered implementing a monthly subscription fee, potentially as high as $10, to offset some of the substantial investment in this currently unprofitable business. Amazon plans to continue offering “Classic Alexa,” the free, current version, at least initially, even as the AI-powered service launches to a limited group of consumers in the coming weeks and months.
Amazon estimates approximately 500 million Alexa-enabled devices are already in consumers’ hands. This presents a substantial revenue opportunity for the Seattle-based retailer, but also carries financial risks should the revamp fail to meet expectations.
Earlier this month, the company issued invitations to the media for an event to be held on Wednesday in New York’s Tribeca neighborhood.
(Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
