Amazon makes way for companies to make their own version of Alexaa

Amazon has made available a way for companies to create their own voice assistant based on the technology behind Alexa. The assistant can then have its own voice and commands. The custom assistant can communicate with Alexa.

Manufacturers can create their own custom assistants in a number of countries and languages, Amazon says. Thanks to the modified version, for example, automakers should be able to integrate a voice assistant without having to do research into speech recognition themselves. The voice assistant exchanges data with Alexa, but has its own word for activation and its own commands to execute.

The first customer to use the system is Fiat Chrysler. That will equip models for the US market with a modified Alexa in the Uconnect system of future cars. When exactly that will happen is not yet known. Amazon has been developing Alexa as a digital assistant since 2014 to promote the use of its services. It runs on speakers, among other things.