Amazon and Mistral AI: Alexa+ Revolutionizes Voice Assistant in France

A Rethought Voice Assistant for France

Amazon has recently introduced Alexa+, an advanced version of its voice assistant, in France. This launch marks a significant evolution from the previous Alexa model, which relied on a deterministic framework. Users had to issue precise commands to get results, often leading to frustrating responses like "sorry, I didn't understand." Despite these limitations, Alexa recorded 17 billion interactions in France over the past three years, demonstrating its popularity.

With Alexa+, Amazon aims to overcome these obstacles by introducing an assistant capable of understanding context, following the flow of a conversation, and tolerating incomplete phrases or topic changes. Alexa+ can also act proactively for the user. Among its features are restaurant reservations via TheFork, smart home control with partners like Legrand-Netatmo and Somfy, sending emails, managing calendars, and tracking orders and package deliveries through Ring doorbells. All these actions can be performed by voice command, without the need to open an app.

Moreover, Alexa+ is accessible from any web browser, broadening its usability. Upon its launch in the United States, Alexa+ quickly found its audience, appealing with its ease of use and ability to simplify daily life.

Mistral AI, a Key Partner for the French Experience

To ensure that the Alexa+ experience is perfectly tailored to the French audience, Amazon collaborated with Mistral AI. Unlike other AIs like ChatGPT or Gemini, Alexa+ is built on Amazon Bedrock and utilizes over 70 different language models, a number that evolves each week. The assistant selects the most appropriate model for each task, whether it's turning on lights or planning a vacation.

Mistral AI plays a crucial role in the linguistic and cultural adaptation of Alexa+ for non-English speaking users. Language models are often biased by American data, but Amazon has worked to correct these biases through supervised fine-tuning, reinforcement learning, and a localized prompting system. Mistral AI is particularly sought after to ensure the linguistic and cultural accuracy of responses. For example, Alexa+ can understand French cultural references such as the "pain au chocolat vs chocolatine" debate and make jokes about Roland Garros. Additionally, the assistant adopts the informal "tu" form to create a more intimate relationship with the user.

Amazon emphasizes that 76% of Alexa+ usage in the United States cannot be replicated by a simple chatbot, demonstrating the assistant's unique ability to handle complex and contextual interactions.

A Cost Integrated into the Prime Subscription

The price of Alexa+ could be a barrier, set at €22.99/month after the early access phase. However, Amazon has integrated Alexa+ into the Prime subscription, which costs €6.99/month, with no additional fees for subscribers. During the early access period, Alexa+ is free for those who purchase a new eligible Echo device or sign up on the waitlist at amazon.fr/nouvellealexa. Amazon plans to invite hundreds of thousands of users in the coming weeks.

In terms of hardware, Amazon has launched four new devices specifically designed for Alexa+: Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, Echo Dot Max, and Echo Studio. These devices offer increased computing power and next-generation sensors. Most Echo speakers sold in France in recent years are also compatible. This summer, access to Alexa+ is expected to expand to web browsers on PC and Mac, allowing for context continuity between devices.

First Impressions and Outlook

Alexa+ stands out from other AIs due to its ability to take concrete actions in users' lives, rather than being limited to chatbot-like interactions. The integration into the Prime subscription is a major asset to encourage its adoption. However, reservations remain. During the U.S. launch, issues with hallucinations and latency were observed. In France, during demonstrations, although the assistant executed tasks without error, some latency was noted between the questions asked and the responses provided.

Alexa+ is now available in France in early access. Its inclusion in Amazon Prime at no extra cost could very well be the trigger for massive adoption.