Amazon opens Alexa AI tech for the first time so car makers can build custom assistants

Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeAmazon will now allow third-party companies the unprecedented privilege of accessing the core artificial intelligence underpinning its Alexa digital assistant, a first for the company’s AI platform.
While Amazon has allowed companies to build skills for Alexa and allows pretty much any consumer electronic device maker to integrate Alexa into a compatible product, the e-commerce giant has not licensed the underlying AI tech for use in other assistant-like products. Amazon is calling the new offering Alexa Custom Assistant, and it’s starting out with a focus on the auto market.
Amazon is doing so to allow not just automobile manufacturers, but any company with a need for a digital voice assistant more control over the software…

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