Amazon's Echo smart speaker - more commonly known as Alexa - is getting an AI-powered upgrade which will roll out across the UK.

Alexa+ turns the digital assistant into a more chatty device which Amazon says will be able to follow threads and be more proactive in its responses. There has been criticism the Echo has stagnated since its launch in 2016, while AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude have become much easier to communicate with.

"It will be interesting to see how users react to this - we expect this could be polarising, with some enjoying the more relaxed, familiar interactions while others may find it disconcerting," said Jessica Miller, head of data insights at FDM/CCS Insight.

"UK consumers will notice an immediate difference," she added.

"Using Alexa+ is a very different experience. "

For example, I asked the current Alexa whether I needed an umbrella today.

It responded, "no rain is expected today". At a UK demo of Alexa+, it responded, "actually, you can leave the brolly at home, with sunny skies and no rain in the forecast, you'll be sorted without it". Ed Freed from the marketing agency Rapp UK once described Alexa as "nothing more than expensive kitchen timers" for most users.

However, Amazon claims 52% of the UK has tried the Echo out, and there have been 114 billion "interactions" with Alexa in the UK since 2023 - roughly 1,500 interactions per person in the population.

One of Alexa's rivals, Google Nest, is becoming Gemini for Home, incorporating the tech giant's Gemini AI platform, but its smart speaker screen display hardware has not been updated since 2021, notes the Android Police website.

Alexa+ will be free for those with an Amazon Prime account (currently £95 per year) or £19.

New Echo devices will have immediate access, while those with older devices will have to sign up online.

The Echo has reportedly cost Amazon billions of dollars in losses and failed to generated a revenue stream, as customers tended to purchase the device itself and then did not buy anything else with it

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