New and improved Amazon Alexa assistant to be powered by Anthropic's Claude AI: Report

Amazon's upcoming revamped version of Alexa, expected to launch this year, will primarily utilise Anthropic's Claude AI model, according to a Reuters report. The report suggests that initial versions of the smarter, subscription-based voice assistant that relied on Amazon's in-house AI encountered difficulties with language processing and responding to user prompts.

Amazon's minority stake in Anthropic, a $4 billion investment made last year, is currently under scrutiny by UK competition regulators. The investment promised early access to Anthropic's AI technology for Amazon customers.

Development of the new Alexa, codenamed "Remarkable Alexa," has faced numerous challenges since its announcement last September, as reported by Fortune. Former Alexa AI machine learning scientist Mihail Eric also revealed on X that the division was "riddled with technical and bureaucratic problems." This comes at a time when Amazon's existing voice assistant, while still dominant in the market, faces increasing competition from rivals like OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode for ChatGPT, Google Gemini's voice chat mode, and Apple's upcoming Apple Intelligence update for Siri.

However, the Claude-powered Alexa reportedly outperforms the version utilising Amazon's own AI models.

"Amazon uses many different technologies to power Alexa," the company stated to Reuters. “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.”

Despite delays, Remarkable Alexa is expected to launch in mid-October. According to The Washington Post, anticipated features include AI-generated daily news summaries, a child-focused chatbot, and conversational shopping tools. Reuters previously reported in June that Amazon was considering a $5 to $10 monthly subscription for the new Alexa to achieve profitability while retaining the current "Classic Alexa" as a free service.

A demo of the new Alexa is expected to be showcased during Amazon's annual devices and services event, typically held in September, according to Reuters.