Amazon To Overhaul Alexa, The Smarter Personal Assistant Might Cost You A Subscription Fees

According to reports, Amazon's subscription to the new assistant Alexa could cost up to around $10 a month. However, the original version of Alexa, will still be free to use. 

Amazon is gearing up to launch a delayed overhaul of Alexa in October. The Washington Post reported that the tech giant is facing new competition from artificial intelligence voice assistants from its rivals. Post this overhaul, access to the upgraded version will require you to pay a subscription fees. As per the internal documents which were allegedly seen by the Washington Post, Amazon will release this upgraded version of Alexa just weeks before the US Presidential elections.

Since it is so close to the elections, Amazon has packed in a special feature that will provide you an AI-generated summary of news articles per day. The choice of news articles will be based on the consumer's preference. 

Alexa Paid Subscription Fees

As per the Washington Post, Amazon's subscription to the new assistant Alexa could cost up to around $10 a month.

However, the original version of Alexa, also known as 'Classic Alexa', will still be free to use. 

The management team of Amazon is still reportedly planning the decisions around pricing and subscription as well as the name of the product.

What New Features Will The Upgraded Alexa Bring?

The upgraded Alexa will reportedly be able to help you find recipes. It might also feature new controversial shopping tools. This shopping tool might boost its e-commerce sale though, which will ultimately help Amazon recover some of its investment that went into shaping Alexa over the years. 

As per the internal documents, “Food assistance was ranked one of the top 3 areas where customers want more help from AI enabled assistance.”

Furthermore, the consumers who pay the subscription fees for the new Alexa might also be able to ask it questions about product details and appearance, such as - "What colors do the shoes come in?,” “What are the ingredients?” or “Do you have any deals on headphones?”

Another feature that we might see in the upgraded Alexa is 'Shopping Scout,' which will notify you in a situation when the item that you were looking to buy goes on sale. 

Amazon is aiming to make AI Alexa appealing to children as well. A feature known as Explore with Alexa 2.0 will enable verified kids to engage in interactive and exploratory conversations with Alexa on a wide range of topics, according to the documents. This children’s experience will be designed to be "safe and moderated," adhering to regulatory standards.