🥳Amazon’s AI Alexa Is Here!!

Today we will discuss: 

• Don’t miss this week’s Workflow Wednesday—AI monetization made easy with ScribeHow, Pictory, and Gravity Write; now available at only $20/month! 

• Alexa+ unveiled—AI-powered upgrades for smarter assistance

• In other AI news today— Microsoft makes Copilot Voice and Think Deeper free with unlimited use, Alibaba open-sources its AI video generation model globally, Adobe launches another Photoshop app with AI features, and Quora’s Poe introduces a tool for creating and sharing custom AI-powered apps

• Saved the best for last—10 must-try AI tools

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 AI- Monetization
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Amazon launches AI-powered Alexa+ with smarter features and visual understanding 

Key Points 

• Alexa+ now uses AI for smarter responses, personalized alerts, and improved task management.

• The upgraded Alexa supports visual understanding, letting it process live camera feeds and respond accordingly.

• Alexa+ is model-agnostic, using Amazon’s Nova model and AI models from companies like Anthropic.

• Users can upload documents and emails, allowing Alexa+ to reference and extract key details for scheduling and reminders.

🚀News - Amazon has finally unveiled Alexa+, an upgraded version of its voice assistant powered by generative AI. Described as a “complete re-architecture,” the new Alexa is designed to be more intuitive, responsive, and deeply integrated into users’ daily lives.

Announcing the update, Amazon’s devices and services chief Panos Panay highlighted that Alexa+ has been trained in emotional intelligence, humor, and adaptability. If a user sounds nervous, for example, Alexa+ might try to respond in a way that feels reassuring.

✨What's new? Now powered by generative AI, Alexa+ can tap into a user’s Amazon account to answer personalized queries like “How many books have I read this year?” It can also send alerts, such as notifying users when new concert tickets become available, and assist with tasks like booking reservations.

Another major upgrade is visual understanding. If connected to a camera, Alexa+ can process what’s happening in real time and provide relevant responses, bringing it more in line with AI assistants that leverage vision-based capabilities.

Alexa+ is also model-agnostic, meaning it doesn’t rely on just one AI model. While Amazon’s Nova model is at its core, Alexa+ will choose the best AI for each task. It can also pull insights from external sources, including AI models from Anthropic and news partners like The Associated Press, Politico, The Washington Post, and Reuters.

🤩What's more? For users with an Echo Show, a new “For You” panel curates relevant updates, and AI-powered photo galleries make the display feel more dynamic.

Security features are getting a boost as well. Alexa+ can now summarize footage from Ring cameras, describing what’s happening in a scene and helping users find key moments more easily.

On the productivity front, Alexa+ now supports file and document uploads. Users can reference past emails or documents in conversations. For example, a user could ask, “I forwarded my work schedule. Are there any events I should know about?” and Alexa+ will highlight the most relevant details. It can even take action, such as adding information from a document to a calendar or setting reminders based on an email.

😎Winning the market - Alexa+ enters a market that has evolved significantly since Alexa first launched in 2014. Now, it faces tough competition from Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Apple’s upcoming AI-powered Siri. While these AI assistants are making strides, most haven’t made their way into smart speakers yet. That could give Amazon a significant edge, as its Echo devices could quickly introduce AI-powered voice assistants to millions of homes before competitors catch up.

For now, Amazon’s biggest challenge is rolling Alexa+ out effectively. If it can deliver on its AI promises, it may just redefine the smart assistant market once again.

Read the full story here.