Alexa/page/2 news and trends

Waiting for Alexa: When Will Amazon Strike Up the AI Conversation?

May 22, 2024
Amazon to Change How Alexa Developers Are Paid
Amazon // April 10, 2024

Amazon will stop paying developers to create applications — called Skills — for its voice assistant Alexa. This will end an offering that has been available to developers since 2017 and aimed to build an app store for Alexa, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (April 10). Amazon...

Amazon Employees Debate Idea of Charging for Alexa
Amazon // January 22, 2024

Would you pay a subscription to use Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa? Inside the company, that’s apparently the subject of some debate. A recent Business Insider report — citing internal documents and sources familiar with the matter — says that Amazon is reconfiguring Alexa as it...

Amazon Devices Leader Dave Limp Named CEO of Bezos’ Blue Origin
Amazon // December 21, 2023

Amazon veteran Dave Limp is going from Alexa to outer space. Limp, who led the company’s devices unit, was chosen by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to be CEO of his aerospace firm, Blue Origin, Reuters reported Thursday (Dec. 21). Limp’s priorities include boosting the development...

Amazon Adds Favorites and Shortcuts to Alexa App
Alexa // December 01, 2023

Amazon has unveiled a redesigned Alexa app, offering users an enhanced experience in managing their smart home devices. The updated app has new customization options and prioritizes frequently used smart home controls and Alexa features, Amazon said in a Friday (Dec. 1) press release. One...

Interviews & Exclusives
Waiting for Alexa: When Will Amazon Strike Up the AI Conversation?

May 22, 2024
Someday — and it may be soon — conversations with Amazon’s automated voice assistant Alexa may cost money. Amazon has been clear about its intentions to charge a subscription for a tiered Alexa service since last September. But improvements to voice technology driven by artificial intelligence (AI) may force the issue. As an Amazon spokesperson confirmed to PYMNTS Wednesday (May 22), that […]

Amazon Puts Alexa in the Driver’s Seat, Walmart Revs Up Package Delivery

November 24, 2023
Amazon and Walmart are revving up their engines with initiatives set to hit consumers by the year’s end or the start of 2024. The projects go full throttle on transportation...

With Hyundai Deal, Alexa Helps Amazon Link Commerce to Connected Cars

November 22, 2023
With the recent news that Amazon is partnering with Hyundai, the conventional wisdom might be to say: Amazon sells pretty much everything else across its platform, and as part of its...

Does Meta’s 3.59 Billion Users Give It Competitive AI Moat?

September 29, 2023
Big Tech’s artificial intelligence (AI) arms race shows no signs of slowing to a cold war. At least not any time soon, while there are still consumers to convert and...

Quick Reads
Amazon to Change How Alexa Developers Are Paid

April 10, 2024
Amazon will stop paying developers to create applications — called Skills — for its voice assistant Alexa. This will end an offering that has been available to developers since 2017 and aimed to build an app store for Alexa, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (April 10). Amazon spokesperson Lauren Raemhild said in the report that the program […]

Amazon Employees Debate Idea of Charging for Alexa

January 22, 2024
Would you pay a subscription to use Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa? Inside the company, that’s apparently the subject of some debate. A recent Business Insider report — citing internal documents...

Amazon Devices Leader Dave Limp Named CEO of Bezos’ Blue Origin

December 21, 2023
Amazon veteran Dave Limp is going from Alexa to outer space. Limp, who led the company’s devices unit, was chosen by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to be CEO of his...

Amazon Adds Favorites and Shortcuts to Alexa App

December 01, 2023
Amazon has unveiled a redesigned Alexa app, offering users an enhanced experience in managing their smart home devices. The updated app has new customization options and prioritizes frequently used smart...