Amazon Plans to Unveil Alexa Devices in the Fall, CEO Says

(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com. Inc will release companion devices in the fall for the artificially intelligent version of the Alexa voice assistant, Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.

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The devices, and current hardware that is getting the coming Alexa+ software update sooner, will go beyond answering trivia questions and help consumers complete tasks, such as hiring someone to fix an oven, he said on Thursday. Jassy was in New York this week for a press event to unveil the new Alexa.

Alexa has been eclipsed in recent years by a wave of AI chatbots, including the pioneering ChatGPT from OpenAI. The reboot of Amazon’s voice assistant is an attempt to rekindle consumers’ enthusiasm and generate revenue from subscriptions, online shopping and other businesses.

“I think there’s a sustainable business model,” Jassy said of Amazon’s renewed focus on the Alexa platform.

The overhaul of Alexa, Amazon’s most important consumer electronics franchise, took longer than the company initially hoped as the engineers worked to infuse artificial intelligence into software not initially designed to generate answers on the fly.

Amazon will start charging Alexa customers for the first time when the new Alexa+ starts rolling out next month. Users who want the latest capabilities will have to pay $19.99 a month. Members of Amazon’s $139-a-year Prime program get the update for free.

In a wide-ranging interview, Jassy said a proposed Biden-era rule that would curb the export of artificial intelligence chips to nations like Israel and the United Arab Emirates could have unintended consequences.

Without changes to the proposed rule, he said, “we’re going to basically give up that business and relationships to other countries who can provide those chips.” His comments echoed a Microsoft Corp. blog about the policy on Thursday.

Jassy said power constraints and chip shortages continue to restrict the growth of Amazon’s cloud-computing division. He said the Trump administration is committed to helping solve the issue. “They understand the constraints it’s having on the economy,” he said.

The Amazon CEO also said he’s encouraged that the Trump team “cares about what business thinks” and is aware of challenges constricting the development of artificial intelligence.

Jassy said he had spoken with Trump but didn’t divulge what they discussed.

–With assistance from Matt Day.

(Updates to clarify that current devices will also work with the new Alexa.)