New York (CNN) — Alexa+, Amazon’s revamped version of Alexa was unveiled Wednesday, bringing the popular voice assistant into the artificial intelligence era.

The new Alexa is Amazon’s effort to compete with the wave of AI-infused virtual assistants that have grown in popularity since 2022, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

Amazon is touting Alexa’s new ability to incorporate a user’s personal context, like the apps and services they use, as being a key differentiator compared to chatbots like ChatGPT. Apple and Google, however are taking a similar approach with their own virtual assistants.

In a preview video, the company showed Alexa+ handling tasks such as telling a user how many books they’ve read this year, reserve their usual Friday night dinner spot, or alert them when concert tickets for their favorite artist are available.

It does this by using someone’s personal history and data across apps, devices and services, and can remember a user’s preferences, the company says.

It’s similar to the approach Apple and Google are taking with their respective virtual assistants. Apple, for example, is updating Siri with the ability to answer questions based on personal data, while Google wants its Gemini assistant to function as an agent that can handle tasks on your behalf. Amazon’s approach isn’t unique, but it’s a much-needed upgrade that could bring its decade-old assistant up to date with rivals.

Panos Panay, Amazon’s head of devices and services, also said during the keynote that Alexa+ has been trained to understand a user’s tone and environment to adapt its response accordingly.

Amazon’s original Echo was a surprising success when it debuted in 2014. But in the decade since Alexa arrived in our living rooms, Amazon has struggled to monetize its hardware division, even as its bet on cheap hardware helped make Alexa the dominant voice assistant.

And Amazon’s business model for the Echo stalled as well, as the company hoped people would use the device to increase their Amazon purchases. But consumers primarily ended up using the Echo for tasks like setting alarms and listening to music rather than Amazon shopping, and Amazon has reportedly lost billions of dollars on its Echo business, according to The Wall Street Journal. With Alexa+, Amazon is clearly hoping that will change.

At the same time, generative AI-powered chatbots like ChatGPT began to take the spotlight in late 2022, threatening the voice assistants of yesteryear like Alexa and the Google Assistant.

Amazon, which previewed the long-awaited update in 2023, made the announcement during an event in New York City.

This is a developing story. It will be updated.

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