Alexa users fear first ever FEE is coming in days as...

A HUGE upgrade to Alexa is expected to be announced in days - but it could come at a price. Amazon has been working to infuse AI into the popular voice assistant used on devices including Echo speakers and more. The online retail giant is in a race to catch up with rivals such as Google's Gemini who have already got a head start on enhanced voice assistants that can answer more complex questions. But many charge for the privilege of using AI - and Amazon is widely expected to follow suit.

Image Credit: The Sun [Four places you should never put your Amazon Alexa device - and the first could result in a bank-raiding attack]

Alexa 2.0 could come with a subscription, allowing you to do things like giving the voice assistant a personality, recall conversations, order takeaways or call a taxi, a report claims. A special Alexa event is being held by the company on February 26 where new products are set to be revealed. But the public release of the new Alexa may not come until more than a month later, sources told the Washington Post.

Amazon revealed in September 2023 that it was working on new models for the voice assistant, little after ChatGPT burst onto the scene and shocked the world. But users have been nervous about the prospect of paying for Alexa. "I use my Alexa everyday for “weather, flash briefing (I enjoy speaking up in the most depressing way possible), and timers” other than that music randomly and maybe occasionally a random piece of trivia or information," one person wrote on Reddit.

"I don’t want to pay for that.". Another wrote: "I'm sure it'll be subscription based. So, no thanks anyway.". A third accused the company of making "alexa dumber on purpose over time to encorage people to switch tp an AI based subscription service". Much like Google's Gemini voice assistant, it's likely Amazon will have different tiers for Alexa including a free one with all the existing tools at no cost.

Apple's recently updated Siri, which also uses ChatGPT for certain queries, is free to use. Amazon recently announced a new free feature for all Alexa users - bedtime stories for kids. The new science-backed bedtime story, iswritten by TV personality and children’s author Vogue Williams. Tumbles and Stripes follows two young tigers going through their own bedtime routine with their mother. To listen, users simply need to ask “Alexa, help my child fall asleep” and Vogue’s will begin to narrate the sleep story.