Amazon Denies Anthropic AI Is Powering Advanced Alexa Capabilities

Amazon is one of the top investors in artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic.

However, the company says there is no truth to reports that Anthropic’s AI model is powering the most advanced capabilities of its new Alexa devices.

Sources had told CNBC Friday (Feb. 28) that Anthropic’s Claude large language model was handling most of the questions that customers have been asking the new Alexa, which last week received a long-promised upgrade.

Amazon contends information in the CNBC report is “false,” the network said.

“In fact, over the past four weeks Nova handled over 70% of conversations — including complex requests,” an Amazon spokesperson wrote in an email, referring to the company’s in-house AI model. “That said, from a customer perspective this doesn’t matter — both are excellent models and in there to deliver the best experience for customers.”

As PYMNTS wrote last week, the revamped Alexa “is infused with generative artificial intelligence to be more capable, conversational and agentic than the old version.”

Dubbed Alexa+, Amazon says this iteration of the voice assistant can carry out activities like ordering groceries, calling an Uber, or finding and booking a repairman. It can also send text messages, go to websites and complete tasks for users through Alexa.com and a new phone app, the company said during the launch.

Alexa+, that report noted, had been plagued by delays, with news accounts of it hallucinating or providing wrong information on test questions. The unveiling comes around a year and a half after Amazon first announced it was going to infuse AI into Alexa.

“Up until a couple years ago, it was pretty difficult to invent with AI, and that changed with the arrival of foundational models and generative AI. This made the technology much more accessible, so people can see the power and magic of what generative AI can do,” said Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

In a separate report last week, PYMNTS wrote that the new Alexa aligns with past PYMNTS Intelligence research into voice-controlled devices.

“The next frontier is approaching … and nearly two-thirds of Americans have already used this up-and-coming technology in the past year,” the report said. “This advancement, of course, is voice technology.

“Consumers want to make everyday routines smart, simple and more connected, and hands-free voice technologies can fit the bill. Consumers can already use voice technology to find information, identify themselves via voice assistant, or find and book airline tickets, among other possibilities.”