Is Alexa+ Just Another Overhyped AI Assistant?
In the latest edition of Omni Talk’s Retail Fast Five, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Mirakl, Simbe, and Ocampo Capital Chris Walton and Anne Mezzenga discuss:
🚀 Amazon has launched Alexa Plus, its next-generation AI-powered assistant—but is it truly revolutionary or just another Alexa upgrade? 🤔 In this week's episode, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, and Ocampo Capital, we discuss its new features, generative AI improvements, and whether it finally delivers on its smart shopping promise. Will you be subscribing or skipping Alexa Plus?
For the full episode head here: https://youtu.be/rTReEPz6yR8
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy
Transcript
The next generation of Alexa Alexa is here, the wonderfully creative name notwithstanding.
Speaker A:According to an Amazon blog post written by Panopin Hope I'm saying his name right.
Speaker A:SVP of Devices and Services Amazon has launched Alexa, its next generation assistant.
Speaker A:Powered by generative AI, Alexa is more conversational, smarter and personalized and she helps you in and get things done.
Speaker A:Alexa can manage and protect your home, make reservations and help you track, discover and even enjoy new artists, something I know Ann always enjoys doing.
Speaker A:She can also help you search, find or buy virtually any item online and make useful suggestions based on your interests.
Speaker A:Customers will also be able to access Alexa and a new mobile app that's available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store and a new browser based experience@alexa.com youm can start a conversation with Alexa on your phone or in the car and pick it up on your computer.
Speaker A:Alexa remembers the context and can continue the conversation across any of your endpoints.
Speaker A:Alexa also, we should note, costs $19.99 per month, but all Amazon prime members will get it for free.
Speaker A:And this is the put you on the spot question of the week.
Speaker A:Oh God, I'm glad it's you and not me.
Speaker A:Here it is.
Speaker A:Quote After a flurry of initial advertising and promise, Alexa fizzled in recent years against its touted potential.
Speaker A:So with Alexa, are you jumping on the Amazon hype train again?
Speaker A:And if not, what are you waiting to see from the AI assistant to prove out its build usefulness?
Speaker B:Well, there's only room for one woman in my house and that's me.
Speaker B:And I don't think that it's going to be I'm going to be bringing Alexa in at any given point in time.
Speaker B:I, I think really this is however I will say I think this is an important addition to the platform and does make it relevant again.
Speaker B:Am I getting on the hype train?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:But I think that you know, for me the problem with Alexa was always like hey, hey Alexa, order more dishwasher detergent.
Speaker B:Well that's if it's fine if I'm just repeating the same thing over and over again but I think that's for me it's just it still is not a clean shopping experience.
Speaker B:I do think now with, with like language based search and how I think as a, as a customer base we're all going to become more accustomed to searching for things.
Speaker B:I do think that this helps because it, it'll now change that one direction of order dishwasher detergent to you know, last time you ordered pods.
Speaker B:Do you want to get those again?
Speaker B:Or do you want to try a different kind of detergent?
Speaker B:Or even like, what could those dishwasher pods have done better?
Speaker B:And what would you like me to look for?
Speaker B:Like, that can now happen, which I think brings more value to the Alexa plus platform, you know, Or I could ask questions like, is there a better brand for the environment or something.
Speaker B:Like, I can sit there and have a conversation and choose the right one that you couldn't do before.
Speaker B:So I think that's where, yes, this is better.
Speaker B:Alexa plus or Alexa 2.0.
Speaker B:But I still, for me, like, I still have Siri on my phone to do things like this.
Speaker B:That's with me at all points of time.
Speaker B:I'm not doing it, but I also haven't tried it.
Speaker B:I think to answer a name question, I would need to actually have one of these interactions with Alexa.
Speaker B:So maybe I'll try it at my brother's this weekend and see if, like, see what it's like.
Speaker B:But I'm not, I'm not buying it for right now.
Speaker B:But, Chris, you, you have an Alexa in your house.
Speaker B:You've used it for how long have you had it?
Speaker B:Like 10 years or something?
Speaker A:Since it came out?
Speaker A:Yeah, probably close to 10 years now.
Speaker A:I mean.
Speaker A:Yeah, no, I don't think it came out that long ago, but yeah, it's close.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So, so, so you're kind of, you're kind of mixed.
Speaker A:You're not like, you're not poo pooing it like we did before, because when we, when we first heard about this, we poo pooed the hell out of it.
Speaker A:But there's some interesting wrinkles here that I, I'm actually coming around on this idea.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I'm saying I think I would.
Speaker A:I'm buying into the hype, but I'm, I'm of course tempered by the hype, you know?
Speaker B:Is this out now?
Speaker B:Can you try it on yours?
Speaker A:I think so, yeah.
Speaker A:So I'm going to try.
Speaker A:I want to try.
Speaker A:I want to try it this weekend, but it sounds like you got to get it set up too, which will be tricky.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:But the key, the key unlock for me here, which has always been my problem with Alexa, and I also think it's important in terms of the future of generative AI, is the visual interface that we're all going to be using to validate the work that's being done.
Speaker A:So, like, for me, like, the, the hang up I have, like, if I want to ask Alexa to make a reservation, how do I validate that?
Speaker A:It's been done correctly.
Speaker A:And I think the way they're talking about this, like you can go on the website, you can talk to the device, you can look on your mobile phone.
Speaker A:It's trying to create that ecosystem for how we're going to act with generative AI.
Speaker A:And let's not forget Amazon's also very much yoked to Anthropic, which is one of the leading generative AI providers here.
Speaker A:So they want to figure this out and are as equipped as anyone to figure it out.
Speaker A:So, so that's the thing, I think, that gets me excited about it and especially trying it, like, if I can start to be like, hey, Alexa, give me some options for reservation.
Speaker A:What, what tables are available at 6pm on Saturday for this type of food and, and present it to me in a way where I can digest it and still make a decision.
Speaker A:Because you're right, if, if it's just like me telling it, that's different than like being involved in a discussion that is helpful and useful makes me get the answer I want.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Which usually you're doing through searching through a thousand different things on your phone or on your laptop.
Speaker A:So that's why I like this a little bit.
Speaker A:And I don't know, that's what I think.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think there's still, I think the proof's still in the pudding for me.
Speaker B:Like, I still need to.
Speaker A:Details, right?
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I still think we need to see like, how this is actually working to determine whether or not this is something that's going to like, get all of the, get more people to buy an Alexa device.
Speaker B:Like at the end of the day, that's what they're trying to do here.
Speaker B:And I don't know that.
Speaker B:I think this is a.
Speaker B:Something that had to be done, not something that's like in incre.
Speaker B:Like this incremental idea that they have come up with and it's going to like bring in all this new revenue for Amazon.
Speaker B:But you know, I, I have to try it, Chris.
Speaker B:And you'll have to report back.
Speaker A:Yeah, I mean, the other thing too, we got to always remind people too, and remind ourselves we're in year two of generative AI.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And, and, and we don't know, like, what's the voice implication of usage of generative AI too?
Speaker A:Because the one thing that is nice about Alexa, I can just be like, alexa, set an alarm.
Speaker A:Alexa, what's the weather outside?
Speaker A:You know, and so can I extend that into the generative AI arena very easily?
Speaker A:I don't know.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker B:But you all can also.
Speaker B:My problem again, is, like, I, I can do that on my phone and my phone is always with me.
Speaker B:Doesn't require another device.
Speaker B:I could probably now, because I'm a prime member, I imagine it sounds like I can download an app and have the same capability.
Speaker B:Do I need that?
Speaker B:I don't know.
Speaker B:Like, is it going to drive incremental growth for Amazon?
Speaker B:Maybe.
Speaker A:We'll see.
Speaker B:I think it gets back to your we're only in year two.
Speaker A:Well, it's the battle of the tech providers.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:That's essentially what you're saying here.
Speaker A:Is it going to be Apple, is it going to be Google, is it going to be Amazon?
Speaker A:With their relationship with Anthropic?
Speaker A:Who knows?
Speaker A:But, yeah, that's what we're talking about.
