Amazon has entered the artificial intelligence (AI) agent market.
Amazon announced on the 31st (local time) that it will launch a new AI model called 'Nova Act,' which can perform tasks on behalf of users. 'Nova Act' is an AI that autonomously performs tasks such as purchasing items, making restaurant reservations, and filling out forms within a web browser. This AI model was first developed at Amazon's newly established Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) research lab, and it was released on this day in a 'research preview' format.
This model is also set to be integrated into Amazon's recently upgraded AI voice assistant 'Alexa+' (Plus). With the launch of this model, Amazon is expected to engage in fierce competition in the AI agent market against OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and AI startup Anthropic.
OpenAI released an AI agent called 'Operapyper' with similar functionalities to 'Nova Act' in January, followed by 'Deep Research' in February, which is capable of drafting complex research reports.
Before this, Anthropic introduced an AI agent called 'Computer Use' last October. Anthropic is an AI startup in which Amazon has invested. Amazon noted that 'Nova Act' surpassed OpenAI's and Anthropic's agents in a test (ScreenSpot Web Text) that measures the ability of AI agents to recognize and interact with text displayed on screens.
Amazon has been launching generative AIs frequently through substantial investments in AI. Following the announcement last month of 'Alexa+', which incorporates generative AI into the voice assistant launched in 2014, it revealed an AI assistant codenamed 'Amelia' in September last year that supports business management for sellers on its online platform.
Previously, in February last year, it launched a shopping assistant called 'Rufus,' which recommends the best products to consumers based on its extensive product listings and product reviews. Additionally, it reported testing the latest AI-based shopping tools 'Interests AI' and 'Health AI' on the 26th, which are health-related chatbots.