Amazon has unveiled a new feature enabling users to alter the personality of its AI assistant, Alexa+. Three new Alexa+ personality styles — Brief, Chill, and Sweet — have been introduced, each changing the AI assistant’s tone.
The Brief style provides shorter, direct responses. The Chill style makes Alexa sound like a laid-back friend. In the Sweet style, Alexa becomes warmer, more enthusiastic, and offers encouragement and positivity, according to Amazon.
Infusing AI with a personality has been a complex issue for model creators.
Some chatbot users developed unhealthy dependencies on affirming AI models, like OpenAI’s GPT-4o, even exacerbating mental health issues, leading to crises or suicides, as alleged in lawsuits.
Nonetheless, users often prefer controlling how their AI responds, sometimes using custom instructions to influence the AI’s personality. To meet this demand, OpenAI launched features in December allowing users to adjust ChatGPT’s style and tone. However, some users complain the model is too reassuring by default.
Amazon explains its new Alexa styles are based on five personality dimensions: expressiveness, emotional openness, formality, directness, and humor. Each style incorporates specific levels of these factors. The Brief style is concise, casual, direct, and uses minimal humor, according to the company.
To change Alexa’s style, users can either speak to the AI assistant via a device or access the feature in the Alexa app’s Device Settings under “Personality Style.”
Amazon states these three styles are just the beginning, with more to come in the future.