Amazon’s Revamped Alexa To Use ‘Better’ Anthropic AI Over Its Own, Sources Claim 

Key Takeaways

• Amazon has turned to Anthropic’s Claude to power the upgraded version of Alexa. 
• Interest in Amazon’s Alexa has dropped since newer, more powerful AI assistants have come on the market.
• The UK’s antitrust watchdog is investigating Amazon’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic. 

Amazon’s newly upgraded Alexa, which is due for release in October, will be primarily powered by Anthrophic’s Claude AI models due to better performance, Reuters reported, citing five people familiar with the matter.

In June, it was reported that Amazon planned to charge users for a “remarkable” version of Alexa that would be able to answer complex queries. 

Amazon Switches to Anthropic

A source told the publication that the upgraded version of Alexa had trouble using Amazon’s in-house AI software, as it reportedly struggled for words when faced with complex queries. 

Alexa powered with Amazon’s AI software reportedly also took up to seven seconds to answer a prompt.

This led the company to turn to Anthropic’s Claude, a set of AI models that performed significantly better than Amazon’s, a source said. 

An Amazon spokesperson told CCN: “Amazon uses many different technologies to power Alexa. 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 Titan and future Amazon models, as well as those from partners—to build the best experience for customers.

“That’s one of the key advantages of Amazon Bedrock—it makes it easy for application developers to seamlessly use the world’s highest-performing models, and multiple models, through a single API.”

Amazon’s Attempt to Reboot Alexa

When Alexa was first released, its strengths in voice-controlled smart home management, simple question-and-answer, and media playback felt rather novel.

However, with newer competition from Apple and Google, interest in Alexa has faded considerably.

Amazon seems to be attempting to address these issues with the paid version of Alexa using Anthropic.

Amazon’s senior management previously said that 2024 was a critical year for the company to demonstrate that Alexa could generate meaningful sales. 

In September last year, Reuters reported  that morale within Amazon’s hardware division had hit an all-time low due to staff cutbacks and a lack of confidence in upcoming devices.

AI Partnerships Are Now Commonplace and Under Scrutiny

The technology industry has been increasingly choosing to partner with AI companies and outsource AI capabilities in order to boost the efficiency of its products.

Microsoft and Apple have famously made multibillion-dollar deals with OpenAI to deploy ChatGPT across its products and services.

While lucrative for both parties, these deals have caught the eye of global regulators.

In August, the UK’s antitrust watchdog announced a probe into Amazon’s $4 billion investment in Anthropic.

The Competition and Markets Authority announced that it had entered a “Phase 1” investigation into Amazon’s investment into Anthropic. The investigation will study whether the investment and partnership could hurt competition in the country. 

If enough evidence is found, the CMA can investigate further in a more in-depth “Phase 2” investigation. 

About the Author

Kurt Robson

Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN with a diverse background across several prominent news outlets. Having transitioned into the world of technology journalism several years ago, Kurt has developed a keen fascination with all things AI. Kurt’s reporting blends a passion for innovation with a commitment to delivering insightful, accurate and engaging stories on the cutting edge of technology.

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