Tech Desk 
Aug 31, 2024
Amazon is gearing up to release a new and powerful version of its Alexa voice assistant in October which will be powered by Anthropic's Claude AI.
This upcoming release named "Remarkable" Alexa, comes at a crucial time when Amazon is struggling to maintain its place in the voice assistant market.
While previous versions of Alexa were powered by Amazon's in-house AI technology, this will be the company’s first venture into using different technology.
Read more: Apple, Nvidia reportedly eyeing investment in OpenAI
Why is Amazon using Claude AI?
Claude AI, an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Anthropic, is one of the most powerful AI models that come on par with OpenAI’s GPT-4. Amazon’s decision to use ClaudeAI comes from the shortcomings of its previous models which were unresponsive and used to take six to seven seconds to respond to a user’s query.
The delay seemed unacceptable for a next-generation voice assistant that has been competing with OpenAI’s ChatGPT Voice and Google’s Gemini in the incredibly competitive and fast-evolving landscape for AI.
Here's what's new in 'Remarkable' Alexa
The upcoming "Remarkable" Alexa is expected to be more than a voice assistant and aims to offer a more interactive experience by enabling users to give more complex commands.
Now, users might ask Alexa to compose an email, order lunch, and set an alarm with a single command.
Moreover, Amazon is also visualising this new Alexa as a central smart home automation hub that will learn and adapt over time.
Expected Pricing
While the “Remarkable Alexa” is coming with several new features, it appears that Amazon is planning to charge $5 and $10 per month for access.
Currently, the service is completely free therefore, convincing its users to pay money for an upgrade could be a difficult task for Amazon. Despite the concerns, the company is optimistic that "Remarkable" Alexa capabilities will justify the subscription fee.
