Key Takeaways
- Amazon is reportedly updating Alexa with Anthropic’s Claude AI to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
- The revamped Alexa will handle more tasks, like sending emails and ordering dinner, and might cost $5 to $10 for the paid version.
- The partnership with Anthropic follows a $4 billion investment by Amazon and significant layoffs in its Alexa team.
Amazon has been hard at work revamping Alexa for the good part of this year. Earlier rumors suggested that the company was gunning to make Alexa a real contender against AI chatbots like ChatGPT with some cutting-edge tech. A few days ago, reports popped up claiming that Amazon’s planning to roll out a subscription version of Alexa with generative AI in October. But here’s a twist: it turns out Alexa won’t be using Amazon’s own tech for this new AI feature.
Reuters reports that Amazon is gearing up to upgrade Alexa with Anthropic’s Claude AI to make its conversations even better (via Android Authority). This move is supposedly Amazon’s way of stepping up its game against OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has been pushing the envelope with advanced voice chat features.
In September 2023, Amazon introduced a new generative AI version of Alexa, aimed at making interactions more natural and allowing for advanced controls like setting up routines with just voice commands. Despite these ambitious goals, early tests showed that the AI struggled with basic tasks. Commands could take an eye-watering “six or seven seconds” to process, and the responses weren’t always spot on, as per the report. Meanwhile, Claude has been showing much better performance.
Amazon didn’t spill all the details but did share that it’s using a mix of its own and external language models. A company representative told Reuters that Amazon kicks things off with its models, such as Titan, but also taps into a variety of partner models to ensure it offers “the best experience for customers.”
Alexa is getting a makeover, but it won’t be free
Alexa is a staple on your favorite Echo devices. With its advanced AI, it can handle tasks like setting timers and controlling smart home devices. Amazon’s goal with the new generative AI update is to turn Alexa into a content-creating powerhouse, moving beyond just repeating set responses. The revamped Alexa will supposedly let users do things like write and send emails or order dinner with one command.
The upcoming paid version of Alexa might run you $5 to $10, with a free version missing out on some advanced features. If this pans out, it’s a win for the AI company. More recently, it rolled out a nifty Artifacts feature for Claude AI that shows related info in a separate window, making things easier to navigate.
Given Amazon’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic last year to boost its generative AI models, their partnership doesn’t come as a shock. This move came alongside a big cutback in Amazon’s Alexa team as the company tightened its belts after some hefty financial losses. However, Amazon’s stake in Anthropic is under the UK’s competition watchdogs’ microscope right now.
