News
Amazon Alexa Has Now Been Upgraded With Generative AI
The famous voice assistant can adjust its tone and express emotions including excitement and surprise.
Amazon has announced an AI upgrade for Alexa that will make the voice assistant even more helpful. “Our latest model has been specifically optimized for voice and the things we know our customers love — like having access to real-time information, efficiently controlling their smart home, and getting the most out of their home entertainment,” explained Dave Limp, SVP of devices and services at Amazon.
The new generative AI model can also adjust its tone and responses, losing the robotic voice and expressing more realistic emotions like excitement, laughter, and surprise.
“The capabilities deliver unique experiences based on the preferences that you’ve shared, the services that you’ve interacted with, and the information about the environment in and around your home,” says Limp. “The new model will allow you to surface personal reminders. For example, it can help you with recently played music or even come up with recipe recommendations based on your grocery purchases”.
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In addition to the AI upgrade, Alexa now has the ability to continue conversations without the user saying “Alexa”. Overall, the latest upgrade should offer a richer, more convincing experience combined with improved functionality.
News
NEOPAY Wants To Follow Merchants Across Channels And Borders
A controlling 65% stake in noon payments would give NEOPAY access to marketplace sellers, online merchants and the payment flows they generate.
It’s been a long time since checkouts were single defined places. A merchant might take payments at a physical register, on its own website and through an online marketplace, sometimes in more than one country. NEOPAY wants to follow those transactions wherever they happen.
The UAE payments company has entered into an agreement to acquire a 65% controlling stake in noon payments. NEOPAY already runs the acquiring infrastructure that lets merchants accept card payments, along with omnichannel acceptance and a merchant services platform. This new deal would add noon payments’ embedded payments platform, e-commerce gateway and merchant network across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. That would considerably expand both NEOPAY’s digital commerce capabilities and its regional reach.
For merchants, the attraction is a single provider for online and in-store payments, plus faster settlements, data and analytics, and value-added financial services.
“Payments should be simple, reliable, and built for the markets they serve,” said Faraz Khalid, CEO of noon. His counterpart at NEOPAY, Vibhor Mundhada, added: “We have built a strong payments business in the UAE, and our ambition is now to take that capability across the region”. The acquisition, Mundhada added, would “expand our footprint into Saudi Arabia and Egypt” while reinforcing NEOPAY’s position at home.
Also Read: In Kuwait, Your Surgeon Might Be Operating From Another Country
NEOPAY is also keen to point out potential payment volume increases. The company says noon payments’ integrations with marketplace sellers and online merchants create high transaction density in some of the region’s fastest-growing digital commerce segments. It also believes control of the business would give it access to those merchant relationships and payment flows, and speed up the rollout of alternative payment methods and installment options.
The combined roadmap targets faster merchant onboarding, better payment performance, tighter fraud controls and embedded financial services. The deal could also strengthen cross-border payments and settlement along key regional commerce corridors.
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