Amazon has added more features to Alexa
Amazon has enabled Alexa with some cool new features. Want to know if the Medical store near you is open? Ask Alexa. You can now ask Alexa to find the timings of any Medical Store and also to find you the nearest one.This latest update is a result of Amazon’s new partnership with Yext.
Yext makes the data more authentic
Yextis the company supplying the data aggregated to Amazon. Earlier Amazon had offered similar information through Yelp. The data collected was actually customer reviews. People used their Alexa’s to find the most popular restaurants in their area. But all other details of the place were not available.
The data aggregated by Yext is somewhat different. It isn’t aggregated through third-party customer reviews. It’s pulled directly from businesses that partner with the platform, like McDonalds, T-Mobile, and Rite Aid, who work with Yext to keep their data up to date. So the Details are authentic and more reliable.
The update currently works in the US, Canada, Australia and India Plans are to expand it to other countries in the future.
Another addition is enabling Echo Spatial Perception support.
Two years ago Amazon had introduced Echo Spatial Perception (ESP) to its Echo devices. Most Alexa-enabled devices didn’t support ESP. Amazon has now enabled the support by moving ESP to the cloud. ESP makes sure that only the Echo device closest to you in your home will respond, and it’s ideal if you have multiple Echo devices.
Every Alexa-enabled device can now support ESP without any software changes. Cloud-based ESP will provide better accuracy for noisy environments, making it more accurate at understanding commands and questions.
One key benefit is that all Alexa-enabled devices will now work together more intelligently in a multi-device environment. Amazon still has to work hard to make multiple devices work together. Amazon has a long way to go, but the start is good.
