Amazon will release a revamped version of its Alexa voice assistant in October. It will be powered by AI models from Anthropic's Claude rather than Amazon's own in-house AI technology, as Amazon's internal software reportedly struggled with performance issues during initial testing. The new Alexa will enable users to engage in more complex, context-aware conversations with the assistant. Amazon plans to offer the upgraded Alexa as a paid subscription service, separate from existing Prime memberships, with pricing likely to be between $5 to $10 per month.

Amazon demoed a generative AI-powered Alexa in September last year. There has been little news about the project since, besides some reports about a potential launch later this year. Shipment of the new Alexa is being delayed due to structure dysfunction and technology challenges within Amazon. Former Amazon employees say that the company is desperately behind its Big Tech rivals in the race to launch AI chatbots and agents. The new Alexa is reportedly still not ready for a prime time rollout and Amazon does not have enough data or access to the specialized chips needed to run large language models to compete. Amazon so far has been unable to capitalize on its partnership with Anthropic to build a better Alexa.

Rohit Prasad, one of the chief architects of Amazon's Alexa, is leading the company's effort to catch up in the AI race. Prasad is leading a new team of thousands of people to develop AI products for an Alexa upgrade and other businesses. Amazon is expected to unveil a new Alexa with AI as early as next month, but company insiders say Amazon's proprietary models are still behind those of its biggest competitors. Amazon prefers to develop its own technology to have full control over its products and services, but it has increasingly leaned on partnerships as the AI race has progressed.

Amazon invested an additional $2.75 billion into AI startup Anthropic, signifying the tech giant's focus on competing with Microsoft's OpenAI-powered services via AWS. Despite this investment, Amazon's internal AGI team is ambitiously working to outpace Anthropic with its own AI model, Olympus. Amazon's strategic move underscores the importance of advanced AI in the Big Tech arena.

Amazon's Alexa division incurred a $10 billion loss in 2022 and laid off staff, highlighting the unsustainability of its loss leader strategy despite the high household penetration. As enthusiasm for smart assistants like Siri and Google Assistant also wanes, Amazon is banking on generative AI to reinvigorate Alexa's capabilities and user engagement. The company's focus is on enhancing conversational interactions and overcoming the "smart timer" limitation.

While hundreds of millions of customers own Alexa-enabled devices, Amazon's bet that people would spend meaningful amounts of money to buy goods on its platform by talking to the voice assistant hasn't paid off. Customers mostly use Alexa to set alarms and check the weather. Amazon has lost tens of billions of dollars on its devices business. The company will launch a paid tier for Alexa as soon as this month as part of the plan to reverse these losses.

Anthropic has expanded its AI assistant, Claude, to Europe. Claude supports multiple languages. Anthropic is offering the service across its website, iOS app, and business plans for teams. The company is beginning the process of raising more money.

Amazon is reportedly developing an AI chatbot called "Metis" to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT, expected to be unveiled later this year. The chatbot, which will be accessible via web browser, will utilize a new foundational model and share infrastructure with "Remarkable Alexa," Amazon's upcoming paid-tier Alexa version.

Amazon is enhancing its AI capabilities by hiring top talent from AI startup Adept and licensing its technology.

In his annual letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy laid out a vision for how generative AI could become the company's next pillar of growth. The company has invested $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic and added prominent computer scientist and AI expert Dr. Andrew Ng to its board. Amazon is taking a three-pronged approach to AI innovation: it will focus on AI models, applications built on top of the models, and the chips that power the technology. The company is optimistic that a lot of world-changing AI will be built on top of AWS.

AWS has launched Amazon Q, a generative AI assistant aimed at improving software development and decision-making by leveraging a company's internal data. Amazon Q facilitates coding, testing, and app development for developers, while offering data-driven support for business users through natural language interaction. The service also includes Amazon Q Apps, enabling the creation of custom AI applications without coding expertise.

Amazon has introduced a new generative AI assistant named Project Amelia, designed specifically for independent sellers on its platform. Currently in beta testing with select partners in the United States, Amelia aims to enhance productivity and sales by providing sellers with answers, advice, and tools tailored to their unique business needs. The assistant is integrated into Seller Central, Amazon's web-based dashboard that independent merchants use to manage their stores. This platform allows sellers to list products, manage inventory, fulfill orders, and track performance. Amelia is designed to be an always-available partner, learning from each seller's operations to offer personalized insights and support. Sellers can interact with Amelia by asking questions in English, such as inquiries about preparing for the holiday season or checking current sales data. The AI assistant responds with relevant information, helping sellers optimize their inventory and promotional strategies based on past performance metrics. For instance, it can suggest best practices for inventory management and highlight top-selling categories from previous seasons. In addition to providing insights, Amelia is expected to assist with more complex issues, such as logistics or reporting problems. For example, if a seller notices a discrepancy in their inventory records, they can ask Amelia for help, and the assistant will guide them through the necessary steps to resolve the issue, potentially connecting them with support services. Mary Beth Westmoreland, Amazon's vice president of worldwide selling partner experience, emphasized that Project Amelia is designed to reduce the operational burdens on sellers, allowing them to focus more on growth. The AI assistant is set to expand beyond the initial beta phase, with plans for a broader rollout to more U.S. sellers and eventual availability in other countries and languages later in the year. Overall, Project Amelia represents Amazon's commitment to leveraging AI technology to enhance the experience of third-party sellers, providing them with tools that can streamline their operations and improve their business outcomes.

Samsung will launch an upgraded version of its voice assistant Bixby based on its own AI models later this year as part of a broader push to enhance AI capabilities across its devices.

Anthropic is introducing a "tool use" feature for its Claude AI chatbot, enabling users to create personalized assistants that can interact with any external API. This feature can analyze data, provide product recommendations, track orders, offer technical support, and even process images for applications like interior design.

OpenAI is rolling out Advanced Voice Mode (AVM) to ChatGPT Plus and Team users. Enterprise and Edu customers will start receiving access next week. The upgrade makes ChatGPT more natural to speak with and gives the feature a revamped design. It also adds five new voices and adds some of ChatGPT's customization features, including Custom Instructions and Memory.

Adobe released an AI assistant that helps users understand digital documents. It is also launching a free mobile version of the tool that responds to voice commands and adding extensions to Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome. The assistant can help users locate specific information in PDF files and other documents, generate summaries, and find citations to support their questions using a chatbot interface. Subscriptions start at $4.99/month.

OpenAI has begun rolling out an advanced voice mode for ChatGPT Plus subscribers, featuring four preset voices trained with voice actors. The feature, previously delayed for safety reasons, is expected to be available to all ChatGPT Plus users in the fall.

Matt Garman, a veteran AWS executive who most recently led sales and marketing, is now taking the helm at the cloud services provider. Amazon has yet to emerge as a leader in generative AI despite throwing billions of dollars behind Anthropic and rolling out its own large language models. Growth at AWS also decelerated to 13% in 2023, reflecting more conservative spending by businesses on IT and cloud services. While the company remains the leader in cloud infrastructure, Microsoft is quickly closing the gap.

OpenAI has introduced an upgraded feature called Advanced Voice Mode (AVM) for its ChatGPT application, aimed at enhancing the conversational experience for users. This new audio capability is being rolled out to subscribers of the Plus and Teams tiers, with plans to extend access to Enterprise and Edu customers shortly thereafter. The update includes a fresh design, replacing the previous animated black dots with a blue animated sphere, which signifies the availability of AVM. As part of this rollout, users will be notified through a pop-up in the ChatGPT app when they can access the new voice feature. The update also introduces five additional voices—Arbor, Maple, Sol, Spruce, and Vale—bringing the total to nine. This selection of voice names is inspired by nature, reflecting the goal of making interactions with ChatGPT feel more organic and natural. Notably, the voice named Sky, which had drawn legal concerns from actress Scarlett Johansson, is not included in this release. While the Advanced Voice Mode enhances the audio experience, some features from previous updates, such as video and screen sharing capabilities, are still pending. These features were designed to allow ChatGPT to process visual and auditory information simultaneously, but OpenAI has not provided a timeline for their release. Improvements have been made to AVM since its initial alpha testing, with claims of better accent recognition and smoother conversations. Additionally, OpenAI is expanding customization options within AVM, including features like Custom Instructions, which allow users to tailor ChatGPT's responses, and Memory, enabling the AI to remember past interactions for future reference. However, it is important to note that AVM is not yet available in several regions, including the EU, the U.K., and parts of Scandinavia. Overall, the introduction of Advanced Voice Mode represents a significant step in making AI interactions more engaging and user-friendly, while also addressing previous concerns and limitations.

Amazon has hired most of Adept's team, another aspiring OpenAI competitor, and licensed its technology, following a pattern that mirrors Microsoft's acquisition approach with Inflection. This move reflects a trend where big tech companies absorb AI talent and innovations without formal acquisitions to navigate antitrust scrutiny. Such strategies may become commonplace as the AI industry faces consolidation and high development costs.

Meta is negotiating with celebrities like Awkwafina and Judi Dench to use their voices for its AI digital assistant, seeking extensive usage rights across its platforms. Striking a deal could mean millions in fees for the actors, with safeguards from SAG-AFTRA for AI-generated likenesses. The company aims to present these AI features at its Connect conference in September, after recently canceling a celebrity voice chatbot project.

OpenAI is launching a new AI voice chatbot powered by the GPT-4o model with features that include natural, fluent conversation capabilities. It is initially available to select ChatGPT Plus subscribers.

Amazon is rolling out a global update to Prime Video to reduce search time and make content discovery easier. The update features a new 'Prime' tab that curates all Prime subscription content and a 'Subscriptions' tab that offers add-on services like Max and Paramount Plus. Generative AI, powered by Amazon Bedrock, will provide personalized recommendations and quick synopses to streamline decision-making. Visual updates such as smoother animations and automatic playback in the 'Live TV' section are also included.

Salesforce is overhauling its AI strategy, introducing generative AI tools for tasks without human supervision and revising its pricing model to $2 per AI-driven conversation. This shift aims to address investor concerns about AI-induced job losses impacting subscription-based revenues. The new AI tools offer higher efficiency and autonomy compared to traditional copilots and chatbots.

OpenAI recently launched its annual DevDay event in San Francisco, marking a significant shift in how the company engages with developers. This year's event introduced four major API updates designed to enhance the integration of OpenAI's AI models into various applications. Unlike the previous year, which featured a keynote by CEO Sam Altman, the 2024 DevDay adopted a more global approach, with additional events scheduled in London and Singapore. One of the standout features unveiled at the event is the Realtime API, now in public beta. This API allows for speech-to-speech conversations using six preset voices, simplifying the process of creating voice assistants. Previously, developers had to juggle multiple models for different tasks, but the Realtime API enables them to manage everything with a single API call. OpenAI also plans to enhance its Chat Completions API by adding audio input and output capabilities, allowing for more versatile interactions. In addition to the Realtime API, OpenAI introduced two new features aimed at helping developers optimize performance and reduce costs. The first, "model distillation," allows developers to fine-tune smaller, more affordable models using outputs from advanced models, potentially improving the relevance and accuracy of the results. The second feature, "prompt caching," speeds up the inference process by remembering frequently used prompts, offering significant cost savings and faster processing times. Another notable update is the expansion of fine-tuning capabilities to include images, referred to as "vision fine-tuning." This allows developers to customize the multimodal version of GPT-4o by incorporating both images and text, paving the way for advancements in visual search, object detection for autonomous vehicles, and medical image analysis. The absence of a keynote from Sam Altman this year was a notable change, especially given the dramatic events surrounding his leadership in the past year. Instead, the focus was placed on the technology and the product team. Altman did attend the event and participated in a closing "fireside chat," reflecting on the significant changes OpenAI has undergone since the last DevDay, including a drastic reduction in costs and a substantial increase in token volume. Overall, the 2024 DevDay emphasized OpenAI's commitment to empowering developers with new tools and capabilities while navigating the complexities of its recent organizational changes. The event showcased a clear direction towards enhancing AI applications and fostering innovation in the developer community.

OpenAI's big announcement today may be a voice assistant. The company is reportedly working on a technology that rolls audio, text, and image recognition into one product. OpenAI will be holding a livestream at 10 am PT to announce the product. Google is expected to announce updates to Gemini at its developer conference tomorrow.

OpenAI has announced new enterprise-grade features for its API customers, including enhanced security measures, an upgraded Assistants API, a new Projects feature for granular access control, and cost management tools. These updates demonstrate OpenAI's focus on offering a more "plug and play" experience for enterprises, countering the rise of competitors like Meta's Llama 3 and open models from Mistral.

Tesla's latest software update includes hidden code that suggests that the company is preparing for the launch of its voice assistant. Little is known about the new Tesla voice assistant, but Elon Musk has previously said that he wants Tesla drivers to be able to do everything in the car with no manual input. The software update also introduces a native Audible app.

OpenAI is reportedly considering subscription prices as high as $2,000 per month for the company's upcoming large language models, like Strawberry and Orion.

OpenAI and Google have introduced advanced AI models that enable real-time multimodal understanding and responses and promise improved AI assistants and innovations in voice agents. OpenAI's GPT-4o boasts double the speed and half the cost of its predecessor, while Google's Gemini 1.5 Flash delivers a significant reduction in latency and cost. Both tech giants are integrating AI across their ecosystems, with OpenAI eyeing consumer markets, which could potentially reach up to a billion users, with its products and partnerships.