Amazon’s Alexa gets new generative AI-powered experiences

At CES 2024, several tech companies, including Volkswagen, Nvidia, and Amazon, have showcased generative AI as a major theme, indicating a significant focus on this technology in the industry. Amazon revealed new generative AI-powered Alexa experiences developed by Character.AI, Splash, and Volley, which are now available in the Amazon Alexa Skill Store. Character.AI enables users to engage in real-time conversations with various personas, while Splash offers a free Alexa Skill for creating personalized songs, and Volley brings a modern version of the classic “20 Questions” game to Alexa users. Amazon has implemented various AI-related enhancements for Alexa, including a new generative AI model for a more opinionated personality and the ability to express human emotions. Additional Amazon announcements at CES include expanding Fire TV to Panasonic’s new smart TVs, Matter Casting support on Fire TV and Echo Show 15 devices, the latest generation of robotaxi Zoox, and more.