Amazon is Still Working on Paid AI Version of Alexa

Amazon is still on track to launch a paid version of Alexa with generative AI features later this year, CNBC is reporting today. Business Insider first reported in January that a paid AI-improved version of Amazon’s digital assistant was in the pipeline, with the service being called “Alexa Plus” internally.

According to the new report from CNBC citing multiple sources, Amazon is still undecided about how much it will charge for the new conversational features in Alexa. However, the company isn’t planning to offer this more advanced version of the assistant for free with an Amazon Prime subscription.

Alexa launched on Amazon’s first Echo speaker back in 2014, and it’s now one of the most popular digital assistants on the market alongside Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. While Amazon managed to create a solid ecosystem of services and third-party devices that integrate with its digital assistant, Alexa and its competitors are now being outsmarted by generative AI chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

As you may recall, Amazon has already launched a smarter and more conversational version of Alexa in preview in the US. Last fall, Amazon said that these new AI capabilities were powered by a new large language model that’s “custom-built and specifically optimized for voice interactions, and the things we know our customers love—getting real-time information, efficient smart home control, and maximizing their home entertainment.”

However, GPT-4o, OpenAI’s new flagship large language model has recently turned ChatGPT into a human-sounding assistant with truly conversational responses. And OpenAI made its new GPT-4o model available for all users of its chatbot, though ChatGPT free users have usage limits.

According to one of the sources who spoke to CNBC, Amazon will use Titan, the company’s own large language model to upgrade Alexa with new generative AI features. “One source estimated the cost of using generative AI in Alexa at 2 cents per query, and said a $20 price point was floated internally. Another suggested it would need to be in a single digit dollar amount, which would undercut other subscription offerings,” CNBC reported.

While Amazon declined to comment on CNBC’s report, the previous report from Business Insider from January mentioned that Amazon had a June 30 launch deadline for its paid “Alexa Plus” offering. Next month is also when Apple is expected to announce its big AI push at its WWDC developer conference, where we may see a revamped version of Siri that works like a chatbot.