Alexa can answer kids’ queries using generative AI. (Amazon)

Alexa Gains Advanced AI Capabilities with New ‘Explore with Alexa’ Feature for Children

In recent years, voice assistants have gained immense popularity. Gone are the days when you had to manually turn on your music system, search for a song on your phone, and play it. Now, all you have to do is ask Alexa. Amazon’s voice assistant is incredibly handy for various tasks like playing music, answering queries, and entertaining children. It can even control smart home devices such as your TV, lights, AC, washing machine, and more. If your child is feeling restless, simply request Alexa to play a nursery rhyme or tell a story, and it will keep them engaged for extended periods while you focus on your work.

Now Alexa is getting a generative artificial intelligence (AI) update, Amazon has announced. Know all about it.

Explore with Alexa

According to Amazon, the new generative AI experience, called Explore with Alexa, harnesses the power of AI to entertain kids and solve their queries. For example, when kids ask Alexa “What are orcas?”, instead of giving the definition of killer whale, the voice assistant gives a kid-friendly description like “Orca whales have long, smooth bodies that travel through the ocean like a submarine. These animals can travel up to 35 miles per hour. This helps them hunt and catch fish, seals, and other marine life! Want to keep exploring?”

Amazon has said that its Alexa Kids science and engineering team developed the Explore with Alexa feature with a secure version of Amazon’s Large Language Model (LLM). It can steer children away from sensitive and inappropriate content.

A new creative AI experience answers kids’ inquiries from trusted sources like the World Wildlife Fund and A-Z Animals. It also encourages them to continue researching the topic to increase their curiosity. With Gen AI, the Explore with Alexa feature is able to generate tens of thousands of potential responses and involve experienced children’s authors in the evaluation process.

Explore with Alexa is rolling out with Amazon Kids+ and will be available before the holiday season.

Alanna Nielsen, head of Amazon Kids, said: “Explore with Alexa helps make our trusted children’s content bigger and better, developing more kid-friendly answers to encourage children to learn and explore, always with trust and safety at the forefront.”