Amazon plans to release a new companion device for its AI-enhanced voice assistant Alexa this fall. The company's CEO, Andy Jassy, announced in an interview with Bloomberg Television that in addition to new hardware, the existing device will also receive an Alexa+ software update that will fundamentally change the capabilities of the popular voice assistant.
What will Alexa+ bring?
The new generation of Alexa will no longer just answer basic questions or play music. Instead, it will focus on assisting you more effectively with everyday tasks. Planned features include helping you book a repairman to fix your home appliances. With this move, Amazon is responding to growing competition in the AI space, which is dominated by chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Amazon sees Alexa as a long-term sustainable business model. The company hopes the innovation will boost revenue not only from subscriptions alone, but also from online shopping and other ancillary services.