Scoop: Amazon eyes news partners for revamped AI Alexa voice assistant
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Amazon is reaching out to news publishers about opportunities to license their content for the next generation of Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, slated to debut next year, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The company plans to debut a new, smarter version of Alexa, using generative AI to power customized responses to real-time user queries about the news.
- Alexa currently provides answers to news queries from various sources, such as Reuters, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and others, but it's not set up to answer real-time questions about breaking news events with as much precision.
- It wants its updated version of Alexa to be able to answer more complex user queries, such as the status of polls during an election.
State of play: The tech giant is eyeing preliminary tests with several publishers who it hopes can serve as launch partners for the revamped Alexa late next year, according to a person familiar with its plans.
- It's currently testing new ways to incorporate news answers into Alexa via text and photo query results. The company isn't testing generative AI video outputs as part of its revamped Alexa offering at this time.
- Publishers will be compensated for their content via a licensing agreement, and answers to users' news queries will be attributed to Amazon's publishing partners.
- Amazon is looking to partner with an array of content partners at the national and local levels.
Amazon also works with a handful of media companies to distribute news content through flash briefings — short briefings anchored by news personalities — on Alexa-powered devices.
- Some partners only provide audio flash briefings, like NPR. Others, like Bloomberg, also power video flash briefings on voice assistant devices with screens.
The big picture: The AI era is proving lucrative for media publishers looking to offset a slowdown in ads and subscription fatigue.
- OpenAI is paying Dotdash Meredith a minimum of roughly $16 million per year to license its content, per Adweek.
- News Corp.'s deal with OpenAI is reportedly worth up to $250 million over five years.
What to watch: Looking ahead, Amazon wants to add more news partners as it scales the devices and platforms Alexa powers.
- Alexa powers Amazon devices such as Echo speakers and connects to devices such as Amazon Ring video doorbells and third-party devices, such as Google's Nest Cam and Samsung's SmartThings Hub.
