Apple rival Amazon is working on an update to its Alexa assistant, and the new version could cost $10 a month, according to a report from Reuters. The upcoming version of Alexa will support conversation-generating AI, and Amazon plans two tiers of service.
There will be a free tier and a second, premium tier that is priced at a minimum of $5, with Amazon considering price points ranging from $5 to $10. Amazon doesn’t plan to include a premium Alexa tier with its $139-a-year Prime subscription.
Amazon hasn’t made significant updates to Alexa in the past decade, and it’s lagging behind other AI products that have begun to adopt large language models. Alexa is free and built into Amazon devices, so Amazon doesn’t make money directly from it at this time. Some employees they spoke to Reuters said the revamp was a “desperate attempt” to revive Alexa, and Amazon executives suggested it was imperative that Alexa demonstrate it could generate “significant” sales.
The updated version of Alexa, which Amazon is calling internally “Remarkable Alexa,” is expected to be able to do things like craft emails, give shopping tips and order delivery from Uber Eats. Amazon also wants to improve the way Alexa controls smart home products, with Alexa being able to learn how to automate routines.
Amazon aims to have the updated version of Alexa completed by August, leading to its launch later this year. Apple is working on a similar updated version of Siri that also includes major language models, although many of the new Siri features won’t appear until 2025.
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