Amazon to Launch Revamped Alexa with Anthropic’s AI in Oct.

Amazon is gearing up to release a new version of Alexa in October, ahead of the US holiday season. The updated Alexa will be powered by Claude, an artificial intelligence (AI) model developed by Anthropic, rather than Amazon's in-house AI.^[1]  

The “Remarkable” new version of Alexa, which will utilize powerful generative AI for more complex queries, will be available for a monthly subscription fee ranging from $5 to $10. Amazon will continue offering the "Classic" voice assistant for free.

Earlier versions of the new Alexa, relying on Amazon’s AI, faced performance issues, often taking several seconds to respond to prompts. This led Amazon to turn to Anthropic’s Claude, which reportedly outperformed the company's own models.

Despite Amazon's history of relying on in-house technology to maintain control over user experience and data, the company is following a trend seen in other tech giants like Microsoft and Apple, who have partnered with OpenAI to enhance their AI offerings. The anticipated launch of the new Alexa comes at a critical time for Amazon, as the company aims to prove Alexa’s commercial potential, especially after previous attempts to drive shopping through Alexa were largely unsuccessful.

The upcoming Alexa is designed to offer more advanced features, including the ability to carry on continuous conversations, provide shopping advice, aggregate news, and perform complex tasks like ordering food or drafting emails. It is also expected to serve as a more intuitive home automation hub, adapting to user preferences for tasks such as setting morning alarms or recording favorite TV shows.

While the release is expected in October, Amazon’s plans could face delays or adjustments depending on the performance of the new technology.

CNBC reported in May that Amazon.com is gearing up to introduce an upgraded version of its Alexa AI later this year.

While the exact pricing details are yet to be finalized, it's been disclosed that the subscription to Alexa won't be bundled into Amazon's popular $139 annual Prime membership, as per CNBC's report.

In 2023, Alexa switched lights on and off in over 24 million homes in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Alexa has provided seamless, hyper-localized experiences in Khaleeji Arabic to households across the Middle East for the past two years, responding to the region's distinct lifestyles, preferences, and needs.

The region's monthly active Alexa user base climbed by 40% in 2023.