Amazon's Conversational AI approach with Alexa

There's been a lot of noise around Amazon reportedly aiming to introduce a Conversational AI capability through Alexa.

I was steeling myself for yet another Amazon announcement that could have dramatic ramifications for the Conversational AI marketplace.

But, no.

Reuters is reporting that Amazon is considering launching a premium tier for Alexa that would offer Conversational AI features.

Those would need to be pretty good, I'd imagine, to get customers converting.

If anyone can do it, Amazon can.

Here is a snippet from the Reuters post:

Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab is planning a major revamp of its decade-old money-losing Alexa service to include a conversational generative AI with two tiers of service and has considered a monthly fee of around $5 to access the superior version, according to people with direct knowledge of the company's plans.

Known internally as “Banyan,” a reference to the sprawling ficus trees, the project would represent the first major overhaul of the voice assistant since it was introduced in 2014 along with the Echo line of speakers. Amazon has dubbed the new voice assistant "Remarkable Alexa," the people said.

I shall watch this space with more than a little interest.