Amazon Alexa is getting an AI overhaul, but you'll have to pay for the upgrade

Amazon will make its Alexa devices more intelligent in the future using AI

(Credit: Amazon)

• 🤓 Amazon is going to make its decade-old voice assistant smarter

• 🤖 The company will upgrade Alexa with generative AI

• 💰 You’ll need to pay an extra fee to take advantage of the new Alexa features

• 😔 It won’t be included as part of the Amazon Prime subscription

Amazon’s Alexa has helped people answer questions, set reminders, and control their smart home for years. But it’s fair to say the company’s voice assistant has grown a little outdated, especially in the wake of recent advances in AI.

Not to be outdone by the likes of OpenAI and Google, Amazon is planning to upgrade Alexa with generative AI capabilities, but users will have to pay a monthly subscription fee to enjoy the benefits. Unfortunately, it’s likely to be a separate cost and won’t be bundled with Amazon Prime.

A more conversational and intelligent version of Alexa will launch later this year, according to CNBC. Amazon declined to comment on its plans.

In a recent annual shareholder letter, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company was building a “substantial number of GenAI applications across every Amazon consumer business,” which included “an even more intelligent and capable Alexa.”

Amazon launched Alexa in 2014 with great success. The voice assistant became a staple in many households but later faced stiffer competition from the likes of Google and Apple. All three voice assistants are now looking a little limited, especially when compared to the rapid advances in AI, but that is set to change.

Google has already invested heavily in making sure it has a capable chatbot, while we’re still waiting for Apple to show what improvements are coming to Siri. We should find out more on that front during Apple’s WWDC 24 event, which takes place on June 10.

As for Alexa, with so many devices in the wild and many already happy with the product, it remains to be seen whether users will be willing to pay a monthly fee to make Alexa more intelligent.

Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.