All that you really need to learn about Alexa for most people is that it's the name of the voice that comes from Alexa-enabled speakers. Alexa's to Amazon essentially what Siri is to Apple. Alexa is a voice you can ask questions and get answers to like, "What is the weather in Chicago today?
But what exactly is Alexa, really? When you ask Alexa a request, it's interacting with a cloud-based service that you do. Amazon has developed the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to emulate real conversations but you are simply using simple voice commands to get this software to perform specific tasks. "Alexa" is simply the "wake word" which alerts the service to begin hearing your voice.
The Alexa Voice Service (AVS) operates in the cloud according to Amazon's Web section. Amazon's AVS is an advanced speech recognition and a tool for understanding natural language. The service can be used with any connected computer that has a microphone and speaker to allow speech. "Through machine learning, Alexa is always getting smarter with new capabilities," reads Amazon's Developer section.
While Alexa is the official name for Amazon's voice assistant, this wake-up word can be changed to "Amazon," "Machine," or "Echo." That's a useful feature, particularly if your name or the name of your partner or roommate happens to be Alexa or something similar.
Apple does have Siri. Google Home has the Search Assistant that comes alive when you're saying "Yes, Search." But why, then? The name "Alexa" was chosen for a few reasons, according to David Limp, the Amazon executive who oversaw the service 's growth. Firstly, the word "Alexa" resembles the Alexandria Library, which sought to gather all the knowledge of the world.
The service was called Alexa more technically, since it includes the unusual "X" sound. Since this service is voice-activated, Amazon decided to choose a name that would not be confused with other words that could unintentionally wake the system up:
"We've been through a variety of names and the name is just as important to the identity it generates around the persona as the cloud voice machine. But behind it, too, is computer technology, "Limp said."If any of you have Echoes, you know it only wakes up when you hear the word 'Alexa,' and the phonics of that word, and how that word is pronounced, and the fact that it has a hard consonant with the 'X' in it, is crucial to make sure it only wakes up when it's requested. And so, a combination of those two things allowed us on Alexa to be kind of narrow in.
WHERE CAN I USE ALEXA?
You will need a device which incorporates the voice technology to use Alexa. This usually means an Amazon app, such as an Echo, Echo Mark, or Echo Display, but this personal voice assistant based on the cloud has also been incorporated into the Echo Car, and with some third party systems. Apps such as Fire TV are likewise compliant with Alexa, as are certain apps from third parties.