At Amazon’s annual Devices & Services event on Wednesday, the company unveiled Alexa+, an upgraded version of its voice assistant that leverages the power of generative AI.
One of the standout features showcased during the event was Alexa+’s ability to process and recall information from uploaded documents, enabling users to ask specific questions about them.
Mara Segal, Alexa’s director, demonstrated how this functionality works. In one example, she asked, “How much oil does Grandma’s zucchini bread recipe need?” Since the recipe had been previously uploaded, Alexa+ was able to extract the correct measurement instantly.
Beyond simple recipe retrieval, the AI assistant also handles more complex queries. For instance, homeowners can upload documents from their Homeowners Association (HOA) and ask Alexa+ for specific guidelines—saving them from sifting through lengthy paperwork.
Another practical use case involves managing school communications. Users can forward multiple emails from their child’s school to Alexa+, which can extract key details, summarize the information, and even update calendars to ensure no important school events are missed.
Amazon also demonstrated additional capabilities of Alexa+ at the event. These include scene navigation on Prime Video, allowing users to jump to specific movie moments with voice commands, as well as enhanced smart home controls, such as seamlessly moving music between speakers in different rooms.
With these new AI-driven enhancements, Alexa+ is designed to be a more intuitive and responsive assistant, streamlining everyday tasks and improving overall user convenience.
