Amazon debuts new Alexa voice assistant with AI overhaul

By Greg Bensinger

(Reuters) - Amazon unveiled on Wednesday an overhaul of its Alexa voice assistant, embedding it with generative artificial intelligence.

"Alexa knows almost every instrument in your life, your schedule, your smart home, your preferences, the devices you're using, the people you're connected to, the entertainment you love and use many of the apps you use, a lot of the services you need," said Panos Panay, Amazon's head of devices and services, at a launch event in New York.

The new service is called Alexa+, Panay said, echoing the nomenclature of the higher tier of many tech and streaming service offerings.

It marks the unveiling of a secret project known internally as "Banyan" aimed at making Alexa more conversational. Generative AI is a type of artificial intelligence that can learn from data and improve over time.

The effort carries significant weight at Amazon, which has plowed billions of dollars into Alexa since its launch in 2014 in the hope of putting the service into a range of devices and ultimately driving sales on its main e-commerce website.

Alexa is voice-controlled software installed in products such as smart speakers that can provide answers to user questions, play music, set timers and serve as a hub for home automation, by linking internet-connected devices so that, for instance, a light can be turned on with just voice prompts.

The new Alexa AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and even act as an "agent" by taking actions for users without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration which generally handles only a single request at a time.

Executives have debated charging as much as $10 per month for the new service, people have told Reuters, to recoup some of the investment sunk into the money-losing business. Amazon did not immediately address pricing details.

Panay said Alexa+ is live as of Wednesday.

Amazon has said there are some 500 million Alexa-capable devices in consumer hands already, meaning the revamp is at once a huge money-making opportunity for the Seattle retailer - and a big financial risk if it does not live up to expectations.

(Reporting by Greg Bensinger; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Rod Nickel)