Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has now unveiled an Expedia skill for its Amazon Alexa service. This means that owners of Alexa-enabled devices, such as the Amazon Echo, Tap, and Dot, can now use their smart-speakers for real-time travel updates. Thanks to the Bluetooth speakers’ voice-recognition capabilities, these devices have proven to be a vital asset for the company in building up on the smart-home culture.
The trend started off with the company’s Echo device in 2014. The smart-speaker operates as a smart-home controller, integrated with Alexa which is prone to responding to simple voice commands from its owners. The popularity of this speaker in markets has helped Amazon find the latest “pillar” of its company.
With Echo-inspired speakers, Tap and Dot rolling out, Amazon had time to further ramp up on the number of offered “skills.” Through these, users can simply access third-party services and platforms to perform a range of tasks. From controlling their smart-locks, to receiving weather updates, and ordering a pizza from Dominos; Amazon thought of everything. The company has already introduced 3,200 skills.
Now, it seems that Expedia has chosen to introduce its first ever Alexa skill. Through this, users will be able to ask the virtual assistant simple queries about their travel plans. Specifics regarding hotel bookings, rental car queries, flight status are all catered to. This helps start a whole new culture of verbally confirming flight information, demolishing the former practice of physically sorting through these details oneself. We believe that the addition of this skill will help make traveling plans a lot simpler. Alexa’s director, Rob Pulciani, claims that the company expects the skill to be extremely helpful with the “busiest travel season of the year” looming close.
According to Tony Donohoe, Senior Vice-President of Expedia, “Expedia remains committed to investing in voice recognition and natural language processing technologies to gain a deeper understanding of the unique nuances associated with the rapidly evolving field of voice-centred interactions.”
Since Amazon continues to dominate the battle in competitive markets with its Alexa assistant, the company’s speaker line-up and digital assistant has definitely triggered a reaction from tech rivals. With the recent debut of Google’s own smart-speaker, dubbed as the Google Home, as well as Microsoft’s on-going plans regarding its own Windows 10 “HomeHub” update; it is evident that Amazon’s rapid growth in the smart-market has threatened its competitors. We believe that the retail giant’s decision to continue partnering up with agencies like Expedia works as a great strategy to market its hardware and Alexa; constantly keeping its user base intrigued and content. Thanks to these promotional stunts, Amazon has managed to seep in to every aspect of its customers’ smart-life.
