Key Takeaways
- Amazon’s Alexa is adding AI personalization. It will learn preferences, voices, and habits.
- Smart Briefing delivers tailored daily news based on user interests.
- Shopping Scout tracks deals and provides custom recommendations while shopping.
Amazon has been working on integrating AI with Alexa, the popular voice assistant, along with some interesting features. It will be called Alexa Plus and is rumored to cost $10 a month. The new features sound perfect for tech lovers and everyday users alike.
Smarter Briefing
According to some leaked documents reported by the Washington Post, one of the new AI-powered features will be its “Smart Briefing” feature, which will give you a daily brief of summarized news articles that are based on the user’s preferences. Being a tech nerd, I can already imagine starting my day by asking Alexa what the latest news in tech is. It will be able to respond with a concise summary of the latest tech articles tailored to my niche interests.
More Personalized Interactions
This is one I’m most looking forward to. The new Alexa Plus with AI will provide personalized and smoother interactions, maybe even rival ChatGPT voice. Since it uses AI, it will have features that allow it to remember user responses, so that it can be more helpful later.
For example, you can ask Alexa to remind you about your upcoming appointment. With the new Alexa Plus, it not only sets the reminder but also remembers your preferences from previous interactions. If you’ve mentioned that you prefer reminders 30 minutes before an event, Alexa may automatically adjust the reminder time accordingly in future instances.
The leaked documents state that Alexa Plus will learn to recognize the voices of any new users and ask users questions to learn more about them, to be able to be more personable and helpful later on. “What do you like to do in your spare time?” the device may ask. If you mention that you like gaming, it may suggest popular games to you or ask if you’ve bought any recent games at a later time.
With its enhanced AI capabilities, Alexa Plus could provide personalized recommendations for other entertainment options, such as music and movies, suggest recipes based on your dietary preferences, and even assist with travel planning by recommending places to visit, based on your budget and interests.
Complex Tasks, All With a Single Prompt
It seems that the new Alexa Plus could also handle more complex tasks like drafting a professional email, scheduling a call, and shopping on Amazon, all with a single prompt. It could also remove the need to repeatedly say “Alexa” throughout a conversation, offering a smoother experience.
Additionally, it may allow users to create custom routines that combine multiple actions into one command, such as saying, “Start my day,” which could trigger Alexa to read the daily news, go over your scheduled appointments or reminders, and turn on your favorite music or podcast while you get ready for the day.
I’m not surprised by Amazon’s focus on its shopping features, especially with impulse buyers. Based on the leaked document, you’ll be able to ask questions like, “Do you have any new deals on 2TB hard drives?” and get even more specific with questions like, “What color options are there?” Shopping Scout, a new feature, will alert you to sales based on your shopping viewing history. This is definitely something that’s going to be handy when Christmas shopping.
Additionally, as mentioned earlier, the integration of voice profiles means that Alexa can recognize individual users and provide a more customized shopping experience for each household member. This could include remembering who prefers certain brands or styles, making it easier for families to shop together without confusion.
Alexa Plus sounds like a major upgrade, and I can’t wait to see it in action. From personalized interactions to smarter shopping, Amazon’s making Alexa more than just a voice assistant—it’s going to be one that remembers and understands your routine. And while the monthly fee might give some pause, the idea of having a smarter, more intuitive assistant at my side may be worth every penny. I guess we’ll have to wait and see, since sadly Alexa Plus has been delayed until 2025.
If you can’t wait, here’s ten things you can do to improve your Amazon Alexa experience today.
