In a bid to compete with popular AI chatbot ChatGPT, e-commerce giant Amazon is enhancing Alexa’s capabilities by allowing it to remember details about users, just like a close friend or family member does.
This vision of Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, was built by Amazon executives during the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2026) in Las Vegas earlier this month.
The company is reigniting excitement around Alexa, which debuted in 2014 as an easy-to-use voice assistant.
How Amazon’s Alexa lost to ChatGPT in 2022
While the virtual assistant gained immense popularity and bolstered interest in voice technology, the launch of ChatGPT in 2022 changed that and forced Amazon to rethink its strategy.
In 2023, Amazon announced plans to make Alexa a more personal and conversational assistant, launching Alexa+ last year. But so far there is a lack of real testimony and, to do this, Amazon needs to demonstrate that Alexa+ offers an improved experience compared to the standard version.
Panos Panay, head of devices and services at Amazon, noted that while many users appreciate basic functions like turning on the coffee maker, transformative experiences result from comprehensive contextual understanding.
The newly launched Alexa website mimics the interactive platforms developed by OpenAI and AI startup Perplexity, allowing users to chat with Alexa online and continue those conversations across devices.
How Alexa+ competes with Google’s ChatGPT and Gemini
Panay highlighted Alexa’s outstanding ability to remember user preferences and execute tasks in a short time. For example, when you asked about dog harnesses, Alexa had options ready on your Echo Show upon your return.
This personal touch sets Alexa apart from competitors like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
