Amazon Alexa

Amazon has officially announced Alexa Plus, a major AI-powered upgrade to its voice assistant. This new system brings agentic AI to your home—meaning Alexa won’t just respond to requests, but will take action on your behalf. From writing emails to ordering groceries and finding recipe substitutions, Alexa Plus aims to be smarter, more intuitive, and more useful than ever before. Continue Reading →

In a "better late than never" moment, Amazon has unveiled Alexa+: an advanced version of its voice assistant that integrates generative AI to enhance user interactions. Priced at $19.99 per month (but free for Amazon Prime members), the service is set to launch with early access in the U.S. next month, initially available on Echo Show devices, with plans for broader international and device expansion. Continue Reading →

The new Alexa integrates AI technology from Anthropic, an AI startup in which Amazon has invested $8 billion. Despite delays due to concerns over response accuracy and speed, Amazon expects the AI-powered assistant to enhance daily tasks, from scheduling to shopping. Analysts at Bank of America estimate that if just 10% of active Alexa users subscribe at $5 per month, the service could generate $600 million annually. Continue Reading →

Amazon's latest update to its Alexa voice assistant introduces a generative large language model (LLM) designed to elevate smart home interactions. Amazon says the new Alexa LLM brings enhanced contextual understanding, allowing for more natural conversations and streamlined device management. Continue Reading →

Amazon Alexa may someday be able to speak to you in any voice that it has ever listened to for more than a minute. Shelly Palmer speaks with Dan Bowens and Tashanea Whitlow on Fox 5's Good Day New York about why this feature is so harmful. Continue Reading →

Amazon has previously announced Alexa's ability to recognize "custom sounds." Continue Reading →

Amazon’s Alexa is moving into hospitals. On Monday, the company announced that it will now support scaled launches of its devices inside both healthcare systems and senior living facilities. Continue Reading →

Amazon just launched Alexa Custom Assistant: a service that lets automakers and device manufacturers build their own digital assistants using Amazon’s Alexa technology. Continue Reading →

The official title of the Amazon Science blog is "Alexa gets better at predicting customers’ goals," but you should read this as, "The Turing test is not for machines to pass, but for humans to fail." Continue Reading →

Amazon, Google, Apple, and the Zigbee Alliance announced a new partnership called Project Connected Home over IP. It will create a new smart home standard so their products can work together. Sadly, we won’t see a draft specification until late next year. But the good news is that the partnership is announced and there will be a spec and open source materials, too. Continue Reading →