Amazon’s new Alexa+ is pretty good, but is it enough for the ChatGpt era?

What this is is a first impression based on hands-on experience with the new Alexa from someone who was once a consistent user of Amazon’s original voice assistant. At the time, I was relying on Alexa to do something as simple as many of us did every day. Play music, check the weather, request a sport score, set timers, and children in the grade can get kicks (“Alexa, who wins the battle between the lion and the snow leopard?”). However, over the years, Alexa’s performance seemed to be deteriorating. I struggled to understand basic requests and definitely couldn’t hold conversations like the popular AI chatbot. In the end, my family’s interest and patience were softened.

So I’ve been waiting for a new and improved Alexa for quite some time, but recently when I received an invitation that offered “early access” to the beta version of Alexa+, I wanted to spin it verbally.

It’s worth noting Amazon In September 2023, we first announced what to return to Alexa+, but its release has been repeatedly supported in the wake of “Structural Dysfunction and Technical Issues.” luck It was reported last Juneand later Issues related to how slow the assistant responds to commands or full actions. In February, Amazon finally Details of Alexa+ revealed at the Splashy Launch eventHowever, the service did not start widely at the time. Instead, they’re slowly rolling out Alexa+ with a step-by-step approach (Amazon says it’s now accessible to millions of people). Prime members will not pay anything for Alexa upgrades, while non-members will pay around $20 a month from their official launch, the company said. For now, early access is free for Prime and non-Prime members. The company has not officially announced its full official release date.

I have spent the last few weeks using Alexa+ and spending some of the things I used my predecessor. We’ve also tried out some of the new actions, such as booking reservations for Uber and restaurants that Amazon is pushing. In short, my first impression is that the service is pretty good. If Amazon first launched its updated version of Alexa in the fall of 2023, I might have said it was very good. Its conversational abilities are authentic and almost very fluid. Blow away audio modes from LLM-based AI assistants like CHATGPT and confusion? It’s not my experience. However, it’s very good over the original Alexa, so it’s going to come as a fun surprise for those who don’t spend much time on those competitor services. However, several times I had to re-emphasize Alexa by name in the middle of the previous and subsequent conversations. I thought I had just taken a normal midway pause, but Alexa came up with a different way of thinking. If such an instance continues to occur when it is published, it may not be a trading breaker for regular use, but it will certainly be annoyed me.

Can you hear the music being played?

Also, there were some issues with the play Spotify Unless you specify that you want to use the new Alexa and play on the specific Alexa device in front of you. The gadget in question is an 8-inch echo show device (echo device with screen) to test the ALEXA+, and since technology is not available in some of Amazon’s older speakers, it includes the original Pringles Box-style echo speaker. (Even if you don’t have an echo device, you can still use the new Alexa+ from the Alexa app.)

The new Alexa said Spotify was playing when it wasn’t. I thought maybe I was playing the old Pringles Tube Echo downstairs, but it wasn’t. The spokesman recommended changing the default device for Spotify in the Alexa app, but honestly, the Alexa app is not the most intuitive and gave up after about 10 minutes. Given that playing music is one of the basic and common tasks of smart speakers, this has not inspired many confidence, but does not rule out the possibility that you have overlooked the settings that solve the problem.

The other flaws I encountered ranged from comical to frustrating. An on-screen prompt for the Echo Show promoted that it could help Alexa choose a new lunch spot, but when she first asked Alexa about it, she insisted that she couldn’t do the job.

I also clearly thought that when I asked Alexa to slow down her speaking cadence at some point, I was able to take a handwritten note. That simple command started a few minutes of strange world exchanges asking Alexa to speed up or slow down the cadence. It took me a few minutes, but it felt like eternal to correct it.

On another occasion, Alexa became Snippy with me. It seemed surprised she had told me to simply unplug and reconnect the echo device to try and solve the aforementioned Spotify issue. “It’s yours, not my problem” was essentially the point of the response. Can AI make me mad? So that would be pretty ridiculous. However, the exchange was a bit uncomfortable, but clearly mildly entertaining.

In this regard, many years of Panophanai Microsoft The executives joined Amazon in late 2023 to head Alexa and its wide range of devices from Echos to Kindles To Fire TV Sticks.

“We’re testing some boundaries,” he told me in an interview at the New York City headquarters in early July. “Yes, yeah, you want a little personality from your assistant, and you want to feel it or be personal. I think that’s okay. Where is that boundary is an interesting question.”

Alexa’s new trick

For my daughter, I dealt with “painting” based on her ability to generate images of Alexa+ and voice commands. We also tried out some of the advertised “actions” that Panay and Amazon believe will set Alexa apart from their competitors and convert it into more agents than their assistants. I asked Alexa to book a reservation for me and my wife at the new local sushi restaurant we were trying out. Finally we were able to stay with the kids as relatives on the weekend. Unfortunately, Alexa replied that she could not make a reservation at the restaurant. The restaurant doesn’t use Opentable for its reservations, and that’s the only partner Alexa+ has in the space. Instead, Alexa provided me with the restaurant phone number. That wasn’t what I was looking for. Amazon could potentially cut back on deals with Resy, the restaurant reservation service used by the restaurant in question. Panay said more partnerships are ongoing, but neither he nor the spokesman confirmed details.

That said, ordering Uber with Voice worked seamlessly (if you agree to provide access to your Uber account). I browsed and honed the cheapest football tickets at a nearby stadium and it worked very well, but again, I wonder if speaking out loud to a 4-minute virtual ticket assistant is actually better or more efficient than searching for tickets on my phone or computer.

Panay said the beta feedback so far has been “overwhelmingly positive” and that Alexa+’s “conversation aspect” (original prompt and response mode) is pleased with customers. “This is just part of the kitchen conversation at this point,” he pointed out, highlighting his point in anecdotes about his family solving arguments and opening open questions by referring to Alexa+, rather than pulling out his phone and becoming prey to all the distractions that come with it.

“The idea is to get engaged to each other and have an ambient assistant there. We’re not on the phone, so we’re not opening the app. We’re not distracted by what’s in the notification,” he said.

One big caveat is that Amazon couldn’t try everything it was excited about. Panay has been increasingly involved with “traditional features” such as playing music, but Alexa+’s household management capabilities were a hit with early users, and he stressed that he believes he will continue to do so. In one example, he discussed making Alexa accessible to the family calendar, then urged him to run away on the best weekend. I’ve never tried that feature mainly because I can’t link my Work email account yet Google Or from Microsoft to Alexa+, and our kids sports calendar is frankly too lazy to integrate (yes, embarrassing).

“Don’t underestimate the power of this.”

Panay also highlighted shopping tools powered by Alexa+ that notifies you when a particular product is sold. And he briefly emphasized that Alexa users equipped in their homes with smart devices thinking of smart lights and smart locks can speak the complex routines that exist.

“Alexa, I’ll dim the lights in my house at 8:30 each night and then lock the door,” he said as an example.

This is four separate commands in one sentence, previously taken at least 12 steps within the Alexa app, Panos said.

“Jason, don’t underestimate this power,” Panay urged me.

One approach that Amazon and Panay can take is to set expectations a bit lower after such a long wait, then over-delivery. After all, the original Alexa introduction happened in a really modest way. It was buried in a massive announcement that unveils a surprising device called The Echo.

But it could be dangerous in itself, especially in the original famous recognition apple designer Jony Ive is currently helping Chatgpt-Maker Openai invent a device powered by its own AI.

“I hope others will make great devices,” Panay said when asked about his competitors.

Perhaps accordingly Amazon recently said it would buy an AI wearable startup called Bee.

Panay has admitted on his part that there is still more to do before the new Alexa is ready for use by hundreds of millions of existing users. And after such a long wait, Panay himself sets high expectations – it’s fair to wonder if “pretty good” is good enough in the new world. Obviously there’s more to do.