Amazon is stepping into the future with Alexa+, the product’s first major update since its launch in 2014.
With its AI-driven capabilities, the new version of the device goes beyond answering questions, not only tailoring its responses to individual users but also taking actions on behalf of users.
At the official launch event, Alexa+ said in its own words, “I’m not just an assistant, I’m your new best friend in the digital world.”
With the new technology come other changes. Amazon says Alexa+ will be included with Amazon Prime or available as a standalone service for $19.99 per month, with early access rolling out in March.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy explained the shift to a subscription model.
“You know, it’s very high-value,” he said. “We’ve spent many months re-architecting the brains of Alexa and building large language models and learning how to execute across tens of thousands of APIs, and, you know, there’s a cost to actually using these generative AI chips.”
Jassy assures customers the company is keeping customers’ privacy top of mind as it unveils the new technology.
“We care for so much personal data today because of how many people shop on Amazon, their payment information, their addresses, their buying preferences,” Jassy said. “So we have taken care of people’s data for a very long time in a secure and private way.”
When asked what Amazon plans to do with customers’ data in the future, Jassy replied, “We keep that data private. And then the only way we use any of that data is to make individual customers’ experiences better.”