Amazon to let companies build own voice assistant in Alexa

American eCommerce giant Amazon is offering other companies the ability to use its Alexa Custom Assistant, which enables automakers and device manufacturers to develop their digital assistant, built on Amazon’s Alexa voice-enabled technology.

The company said in a statement that the Italian/American multinational company Fiat Chrysler will be the first to use this service to control the automaker’s in-car tools. The new arrangement folds all interactions into one system, integrating in-car functions with the rest of Amazon’s web of data.

The tech giant has also invited other companies to customize the underlying Alexa system with their own wake word, voice, and unique capabilities.

Amazon further stated that depending on the computer or vehicle, client use cases, and language requirements, the cost of creating an intelligent assistant using the service can differ. Automakers that use the service can also tap into “tens of thousands of Alexa skills and integrations,” like smart home, entertainment, and shopping.

“The real way that you’re going to want to interact with a voice assistant in your car is to have it built-in. Now, with the addition of Alexa Custom Assistant, it allows us to add even more flexibility for those auto manufacturers to add it in and build it in moving into the future. We started with smart speakers, we’ve extended to smart displays, we announced at CES this year with PCs. We think this idea of ambient computing, and, Alexa powering that it has a lot of breadths and, it can be in a lot of different places.”

Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa, also known as Alexa, is a virtual assistant AI technology developed by Amazon. It is capable of voice interaction, music playback, making to-do lists, setting alarms, streaming podcasts, playing audiobooks, and providing weather, traffic, sports, and other real-time information, such as news. Alexa can also control several smart devices using itself as a home automation system.