Amazon has teased the release of a new version of Alexa for a while now. It seems that time is almost here with Amazon Alexa generative AI that supposedly makes Alexa more useful than ever, but it may come in the form of yet another subscription.
Press Preview Event Coming in February
After numerous delays, including one back in November, Amazon may be releasing the new generative AI version of Alexa. Both Google and Siri have already added more advanced AI capabilities to their assistants, but various issues have prevented Amazon from releasing their update.
While few details have been revealed just yet, many press members have been invited to a special Alexa-centric event on February 26th. The only real things we know so far about the possible release of the Amazon Alexa generative AI is it’ll be able to multi-task, handling more than one command or query in a sequence. That’d be a nice change from having to repeatedly say “Alexa” when you need several tasks performed in a row.
It’s even possible Alexa would now be able to handle certain tasks without user input. I’m not sure what those would entail, but it could be something as simple as making better product recommendations or helping you find new restaurants without being prompted.
Would You Pay for Alexa?
Now for the bad news. Amazon has invested billions in AI development. Part of what will be powering the Alexa generative AI comes from the AI startup Anthropic. While Amazon sells plenty of Alexa-enabled devices, that’s really the only profit. The Alexa assistant itself is free, but costs money for Amazon to maintain.
In an effort to make this area of Amazon more profitable, the company plans to charge for the more intelligent and useful upgraded Alexa. Current estimates range from $5 to $10 per month. This means yet another subscription.
The good news is Amazon knows many users won’t want to pay, not after using it for years for free. Right now, Amazon plans to keep a classic version for those who are content with simple smart home controls, kitchen timers, checking the weather, and playing music. I’ll be honest, I don’t really need much more than that myself.
Since the focus is on the Alexa generative AI version, Amazon’s not planning to add much of anything to the existing version. If users are lucky, Amazon may eventually release multiple tiers, offering a basic free version of Alexa AI along with premium versions that offer more features, much like ChatGPT and other AI chatbots.
For now, Amazon’s still working out the kinks. A final decision on whether to start releasing Alexa generative AI to the public may be made as early as February 14th. But, even if it does release, it’ll only be to a small number of users as a test before rolling out to all users. For now, enjoy Alexa as is and take advantage of Prime’s AI recap feature.
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