Amazon is updating Alexa to have more natural interactions

The latest announcements could aid Amazon in bolstering usage of its voice assistant platform. At the moment, voice assistants are used primarily for activities like checking the weather, receiving news updates, or making calls. The development of new experiences that expand voice assistants' ability to complete more complex interactions will likely help voice assistants and smart speakers occupy a growing amount of consumers' time. The voice app ecosystem is booming. In the US, the number of Alexa skills alone surpassed 25,000 in January 2018, up from just 7,000 the previous January, in categories ranging from music streaming services, to games, to connected home tools. As voice platforms continue to gain footing in homes via smart speakers -- connected devices powered primarily by artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled voice assistants -- the opportunity for voice apps is becoming more profound.