E-commerce giant Amazon unveiled a range of new and updated devices on Wednesday, including its voice assistant Alexa, which is now powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI).
Alexa will speak much more naturally, losing the robotic tone she has had for almost 10 years.
With Alexa you can now have almost human-like conversations.
The assistant can provide the start time of football games or even recipe ideas. The tool will also be able to compose and recite poetry, as Amazon demonstrated at its annual product launch in Arlington, Virginia.
Start of the widget. Skip widget?
End of widget. Return to the top of the widget?
Alexa was launched in 2014 and isn’t bringing in as much revenue as Amazon would have hoped. The service is typically accessible through compatible speakers or televisions, provides voice answers to questions from its users, such as local weather, and can be used to control smart home devices.
The Seattle-based company has been working to give Alexa a boost, including to compete with OpenAI’s wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT, which debuted in November 2022 and won over audiences with its long-winded written answers to complex questions.
Updated gadgets and new features
Dave Limp, who will leave the company before the end of the year, demonstrated how you can ask the voice assistant a series of questions without repeatedly using the command word Alexa, a new feature for some compatible devices, such as the Echo Show 8 smart screen Model has been updated.
Start of the widget. Skip widget?
End of widget. Return to the top of the widget?
At launch, Amazon also unveiled redesigned versions of Fire tablets for kids, a soundbar for TVs, and new search features in the interface of FireTV, the brand’s media player, to find free content.
The new devices announced by Amazon include the $180 (CAD$240) wall-mounted touchscreen Echo Hub, which lets you control devices throughout the home.
Amazon has also introduced a new feature for its Alexa app that maps internet-connected devices throughout the home, making them easier to control.
Start of the widget. Skip widget?
End of widget. Return to the top of the widget?
Other announcements included updates to the Echo Frames, which have built-in Alexa, as well as updated versions of the Blink outdoor security cameras and Eero Wi-Fi extenders.