This is what happens when you are a digital platform.
When it comes to this realm, I repeatedly stated that Amazon is the top banana. Nobody is as adept of managing a digital platform and instilling a massive flywheel effect.
Amazon Prime is one of the most valued subscriptions out there. Anyone who is part of the Amazon ecosystem to any great degree tends to sign up for Prime.
Why is that?
What is built into the membership is simply too valuable. In other words, it is easy to get one's money from the $139 per year subscription.
Now we are seeing another step down the AI path.
Alexa To Another Level
Amazon, along with Apple, was an early entrant into the voice assistant game. So far, Alexa has stagnated, not advancing much. Some wonder whether Alexa is really nothing more than an expensive alarm clock.
With so much happening regarding chatbots, including the release of ChatGPT 4o, we are seeing the field get rather crowded.
Does this means Amazon is in trouble?
It is too early to make this decision. As we know with the game, it changes weekly. Even if Amazon is falling behind, they are not alone. Whatever the deal is internally, Amazon is a big investor in Anthropic, the developer of Claude.
Here is where things can change quickly.
According to an article on CNBC, Amazon is planning on releasing another version of Alexa, one that is more conversational.
For this service, a fee will be charged, one to offset costs. No word on what it will cost.
While there is still a lot to speculate, my guess is this will be somehow tied to Claude. Perhaps Amazon will take that and train it on its data, offering a more personalized experience for its users.
Amazon Prime has over 200 million users. Here is where the large ecosystem can be leveraged.
How many of these people are using some type of chatbot already? What percentage are willing to pay for it?
This is what Amazon will seek to tap into. We can figure the cost likely will range from $10-$20 per month. Even if it is at the lower end, even 5% take rate adds up to some serious money.
AI Or Get Left Behind
Some are questioning whether all of this is a hype cycle. I can assure you, it is not. We are seeing a trend that was forming over a long period of time.
Keep in mind that ChatGPT3 was introduced in November of 2022. This means it was the third version. There were two over that preceded it. Hype happens very quickly without much substance. With chatbots, as an example, we are seeing progress being made along with integration into products.
The latter is going to determine the staying power for certain models. Google is already having some issues. Their photo generator was a total mess and had to be pulled. This was followed by the integration of Gemini into search, something that made for some very interesting (and dangerous) answers.
That said, there is no turning back. We see these evolutions periodically. When they hit, things are chaotic in the moment as newer generations are rolled out. Over time, the entire spectrum improves as the technology advances.
We all know there was a time when companies did not have websites. In the digital age, this became an absurd idea. Nevertheless, there was a period where companies were hesitant to do that.
It is the same with AI. At some point, it is going to be standard in applications we utilize. Those companies that seek to leverage these tools will find they move further ahead of others. Like most things, many will be late to the table.
Amazon is not a company that is going to get blindsided by any of this. It is fully aware of what is taking place and, even without a product of its own, is not far from the game. The same can be presumed for Apple.
These entities have a proven record of success. With so much data along with a ton of money, they have the resources to get things done.
Will the next version of Alexa (or whatever they name it) compare with others things on the market? We will have to see. One advantage that Amazon has is a large digital platform with many loyal customers.