According to Reuters, the enhanced version of Alexa, set to launch this year, will mainly rely on Anthropic’s Claude AI model. Earlier iterations of Amazon’s smarter, subscription-based voice assistant, which Amazon’s own AI-powered, reportedly fell short—frequently misinterpreting words and struggling to respond accurately to user prompts.
The UK’s competition regulators are currently investigating Amazon’s minority stake in Anthropic. Last year, Amazon invested $4 billion in the startup, with the agreement that Amazon customers would receive early access to Anthropic’s AI technology.
According to Fortune, the development of Amazon’s new Alexa technology, known as “Remarkable Alexa,” has encountered numerous challenges since its announcement last September.
Former Alexa AI machine learning scientist Mihail Eric shared on X that the division was plagued by both technical and bureaucratic issues.
At the same time, Amazon’s voice assistant, though still a market leader, is growing outdated and faces increasing competition from rivals such as OpenAI’s Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT, Google Gemini’s voice chat feature, and the upcoming Apple Intelligence update for Siri.
The revamped Alexa, which incorporates Claude, is said to outperform the version relying on Amazon’s proprietary AI models.
In a statement to Reuters, Amazon explained, “We use a range of technologies to power Alexa. For machine learning models, we primarily rely on those developed by Amazon, but we have used—and will continue to use—a variety of models, including Amazon’s Titan and future Amazon models, as well as models from partners, to deliver the best experience for our customers.”
After facing release delays, Remarkable Alexa is now expected to launch in mid-October.
According to a report from The Washington Post earlier this week, the new version will feature daily AI-generated news summaries, a child-friendly chatbot, and conversational shopping tools.
Reuters previously reported in June that Amazon was considering a $5 to $10 monthly subscription for Remarkable Alexa in an effort to make the voice assistant profitable, while keeping the current “Classic Alexa” available as a free service.
According to Reuters, a demonstration of the new Alexa will be presented during Amazon’s annual devices and services event, which is typically held in September.
Related Stories For You