Amazon has announced the first major overhaul of Alexa voice assistant for more than a decade, after embedding its voice-activated assistant with artificial intelligence.

The internet giant has poured billions of dollars into Alexa since launch in 2014 to equip a growing range of devices with the technology and drive sales on its main e-commerce site.

The new version, Alexa+, is "more conversational, smarter, [personalised]—and she helps you get things done," according to Panos Panay, senior vice-president of devices & services at Amazon.

"She keeps you entertained, helps you learn, keeps you [organised], [summarises] complex topics, and can converse about virtually anything. Alexa+ can manage and protect your home, make reservations, and help you track, discover, and enjoy new artists," Panay added.

"She can also help you search, find or buy virtually any item online, and make useful suggestions based on your interests. Alexa+ does all this and more—all you have to do is ask."

Alexa+ is free for Amazon Prime members and priced at $19.99 per month for non-Prime users. The service went live on Wednesday and will be available from March for some users before being rolled out further in the coming months.

Conversations with the new voice assistant are supposed to feel "expansive and natural", Panay said.

"Whether you’re speaking in half-formed thoughts, using colloquial expressions, or exploring complex ideas, Alexa+ understands what you mean, and responds like a trusted assistant."

Panay demonstrated that Alexa can store customer preferences through prompts.

"For example, if you are planning a dinner for the family, Alexa+ can remember that you love pizza, your daughter is vegetarian, and your partner is gluten-free, to suggest a recipe or restaurant," he said.

The service, which based on powerful large language models, can review documents, nevigate the internet without direction, and also connect to thousands of services and devices, including Amazon products such as Ring doorbells.

"To achieve this, we created a concept called 'experts'—groups of systems, capabilities, APIs, and instructions that accomplish specific types of tasks for customers," Panay explained.

"With these experts, Alexa+ can control your smart home with products from Philips Hue, Roborock, and more; make reservations or appointments with OpenTable and Vagaro; explore discographies and play music from providers including Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and iHeartRadio; order groceries from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market, or delivery from Grubhub and Uber Eats; remind you when tickets go on sale on Ticketmaster; and use Ring to alert you if someone is approaching your house."

The event marked the unveiling of Amazon's secret 'Banyan' project to make Alexa more conversational after a decade in which the product has been largely stagnant, with Apple and Google having already incorporated AI into their respective voice assistants.

Amazon said there are some 500m Alexa-capable devices already owned by consumers. Danial Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo, acknowledged AI start-up Anthropic's contribution to Alexa+.

(Pic: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)