Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) Alexa voice assistant receives major upgrade, embedded with generative AI.

Noted, Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN.US) announced on Wednesday its first major upgrade since launching the Alexa voice assistant over a decade ago, embedding it with generative artificial intelligence. Having invested billions of dollars into Alexa since its launch in 2014, Amazon.com, Inc. aims to expand this service to a range of devices and ultimately drive sales on its main e-commerce website. Panos Panay, the head of devices and services at Amazon.com, Inc., stated that this new service is called Alexa+, aligning with the advanced names of many high-tech and streaming service products. Alexa+ will be free for Amazon.com, Inc. Prime members, while non-Prime users will be charged $19.99 per month. This service will be available to some users in March and will gradually expand to more people over time. Amazon.com, Inc. had considered pricing this service at $5 or $10 per month, applicable to all users without Prime services. This event marks the unveiling of a secret project called "Banyan" internally, aimed at making Alexa more conversational. Generative artificial intelligence is a type of AI that can learn from data and improve over time. Amazon.com, Inc. demonstrated various features of this service, such as using it for ordering food, smart home connectivity, and video streaming. While Amazon.com, Inc.'s Alexa was launched three years after Apple Inc.'s Siri entered iPhone manufacturer devices, Alexa has helped make voice assistants more mainstream. However, over the years, Alexa has lacked reliable improvements and updates, leading to erosion in consumer usage of the service, especially in the age of artificial intelligence. Apple Inc. has integrated its AI suite known as "Apple Inc. Intelligence" into Siri voice assistant, while Alphabet Inc. Class C has improved its voice assistant using AI chatbot Siasun Robot & Automation Gemini. Alexa is a voice control software installed in products like smart speakers, capable of answering user questions, playing music, setting timers, and acting as a central hub for home automation by connecting devices via the internet, such as turning on lights with just a voice command. The new Alexa AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence, even acting as a "proxy" for users to take action without their direct involvement. This contrasts with the current iteration that typically handles one request at a time. Amazon.com, Inc. states that there are approximately 500 million devices supporting Alexa in consumers' hands, indicating a huge revenue opportunity for the company with this transformation, but facing financial risks if expectations are not met.