X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Alexa's getting 'more expressive,' and your Echo will soon join your conversations

Amazon is adding artificial intelligence capabilities, allowing multiple people to talk to Alexa at once.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
Expertise News | Mobile | Broadband | 5G | Home tech | Streaming services | Entertainment | AI | Policy | Business | Politics Credentials
  • I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
See full bio
Corinne Reichert
amazon-echo-dot-3

Alexa is getting teachable AI.

 Chris Monroe/CNET

Amazon has unveiled new artificial intelligence capabilities for Alexa , aimed at making the voice assistant more conversational in your home. Alexa will be "more natural and more expressive," Amazon said during its annual product launch event Thursday.

Tapping tech advancements in neural text-to-speech, Amazon said it's using AI to make Alexa's responses better suited to how actual human conversation occurs. This includes multisensory artificial intelligence, or the ability for multiple people to be in conversation with the voice assistant.

Read more: Every new Alexa feature announced so far at today's Amazon event

"As human beings, our conversations are far more free flowing, very less structured, we often don't use each other's names. We talk over each other, and we speak simultaneous," Amazon said. Alexa will use context from an entire conversation to decide whether a request is meant for her. 

Amazon is calling it teachable AI, where Alexa can ask questions to fill gaps in contextual understanding. The capability will arrive in the coming months.

See also