Amazon Will Reportedly Charge a Monthly Fee for Claude AI-Powered Alexa

Reportedly, Amazon will use Anthropic’s Claude artificial intelligence models for its upgraded version of Alexa. With an expected release date in October, Amazon’s enhanced Alexa, purportedly called “Remarkable,” may cost users $5 to $10 a month. However, the “Classic” voice assistant will remain free.

In initial tests using in-house software, Alexa supposedly struggled to perform, sometimes taking upward of seven seconds to respond to users. After which, Amazon reportedly experimented with Claude, and the results were significantly better.

“When it comes to machine learning models, we start with those built by Amazon, but we have used, and will continue to use, a variety of different models — including (Amazon AI model) Titan and future Amazon models, as well as those from partners — to build the best experience for customers,” a company spokeswoman said, as reported by Reuters.

In September last year, Amazon invested $4 billion in Anthropic, with the promise that customers would be able to take advantage of the technology. It is unclear whether Amazon is paying any more money for Anthropic’s permission to use Claude in the new Alexa. Amazon’s large investment unintentionally caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in January.

Once OpenAI’s ChatGPT revolutionized AI interactions in November 2022, Amazon’s voice assistant seemed outdated. While Alexa was designed for quick responses to simple questions, ChatGPT can handle personalized, extended conversations.

While there is reportedly some skepticism about whether consumers will pay for an assistant that’s free today, the upgraded version of Alexa will likely have the capability to build complete conversations based on prior questions and answers. Remarkable Alexa will potentially help users buy items based on specific events, like clothes for a vacation. Also, the assistant may be able to complete more complex tasks, like ordering food, with a single prompt as well as remembering to set an alarm even if the user does not ask.

According to Amazon, roughly 500 million Alexa-powered devices have been sold over the years, but the company has not officially disclosed how many active users are out there. Current estimates put the figure around 100 million, which could mean a substantial number of Alexa upgrades coming later this year.