Amazon could release AI-enhanced Alexa assistant on Feb 26: What to expect

Beyond conversational features, AI-powered Alexa is expected to get agentic AI capabilities for taking certain actions on user's behalf

Amazon is reportedly holding an event on February 26, where the company is expected to update its digital assistant Alexa with generative artificial intelligence capabilities. According to a Reuters report, Amazon will be unveiling a new AI-powered Alexa, which will be able to hold conversations with the user and may even take up tasks on their behalf.

 

As per the report, the in-person event will be held in New York and will feature Amazon's head of devices and the services team. While a spokesperson for the company has confirmed that the event will focus on the digital assistant Alexa, there is no official information about the changes it will be getting.

 

AI-powered Amazon Alexa: What to expect

 

Leveraging artificial intelligence, the new version of Alexa is expected to gain the ability to respond to multiple prompts in sequence. The report stated that the digital assistant will also get agentic AI capabilities for taking certain actions on behalf of the user. If true, this will be a major upgrade over the current version of the assistant which can only handle one request at a time.

Amazon is reportedly planning to roll out the new version of the Alexa to a limited number of users for testing. While the initial version of the service is expected to be free-to-use, the company is considering monthly subscriptions of $5 to $10. Besides the new AI-powered Alexa, Amazon will likely continue to offer the current version for no additional cost, calling it "Classic Alexa." However, the report stated that it is unlikely that the company will add new features to the classic version. This is a similar approach to Google, which is gradually phasing out its Google Assistant on Android smartphones by replacing it with the AI-powered Gemini assistant.