Latest news with #NovaAct
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Don't Miss Out: AI Agents Are Becoming Tech's Next Battleground
Hello, Reader. We've all been there – stuck on the phone in customer service purgatory. That moment when you're yelling 'agent!' into the phone… jabbing zero over and over… and still getting nowhere fast. InvestorPlace - Stock Market News, Stock Advice & Trading Tips You just want a real human. Ironically 'agents' are exactly what Big Tech is racing to create — not helpful humans, but autonomous AI systems designed to replace them entirely. Now, we're used to 'generative' artificial intelligence. These are AI models that use pattern recognition to generate content, like text, images, and videos. Think chatbots like ChatGPT, Google's Gemini, or Claude. 'Agentic' AI, on the other hand, refers to systems that can autonomously make decisions and take action. AI agents are able to handle the sort of tasks performed by personal assistants or customer service agents… and they can do so without the constant help of human hands. Now, let me tell you: Agentic AI is here, and it's moving fast. About a month ago, Inc. (AMZN) jumped into the AI agent race with Nova Act, an AI model specifically designed to perform tasks within web browsers, essentially doing the work for you. Unlike the chatbots we're used to that only respond to our commands, Nova Act takes action all on its own. Following the announcement, Amazon released a 'research preview' version of Nova Act. It's not yet open to the public, but it allows invited developers to try their hand at building AI agents to handle everyday tasks like submitting time-off requests, blocking calendar time, or setting up automated email responses. Amazon claims Nova Act has over 90% accuracy, even with tasks that normally confuse other AI agent models – like picking dates or handling those annoying pop-up windows. 'Our dream is for agents to perform wide-ranging, complex, multi-step tasks,' an Amazon spokesperson said. They are picturing a future where an AI agent can help plan your wedding or summer vacation, or even help businesses perform complicated IT tasks without someone constantly watching over it. In fact, Nova Act is already working in Alexa+ to browse websites and complete tasks when direct software integrations aren't available. Additionally, Bloombergrecentlyreported that Apple Inc. (AAPL) is working on its own agent – an 'AI doctor service' codenamed 'Project Mulberry' (or 'Health+'). Apple's AI agent would play doctor by collecting health data from your iPhone and Apple Watch. It would then analyze that information and provide personalized recommendations to improve your health. The company is also organizing a team of health professionals across various specialties… doctors who would create videos the AI agent can reference as it assesses concerning trends in your data. Apple is even on the lookout for a well-known 'major doctor personality' to be the face of this service. According to Bloomberg, this project is a top priority for Apple's Healthcare division, with a release as early as spring or summer 2026. Beyond consumer applications, AI agents are also transforming how businesses operate, with major tech partnerships forming rapidly. Including one you can get in on… Last week, International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) announced a partnership with one of my recommendations to advance IBM's own AI platform, Watsonx. Through this collaboration, IBM will expand its AI agent, called Watsonx Orchestrate, to support multi-agent workflows. This setup allows customers to build and manage AI agents across business processes. Watsonx Orchestrate will first be implemented in human resources, with its agents performing AI inferencing where customer data is stored. It is expected to be available on a major cloud platform this July. As I mentioned, IBM's partner in this endeavor is a company I've been watching closely – as it is actively integrating AI agents across its platforms, making it a leader in the agentic AI space. And this collaboration is just one of many strategic moves it's making… I've put all the details about this promising AI agent player inside my special report . You can learn how to access this report through my latest free special broadcast. The fast-paced AI race is reshaping our world minute by minute. So, the right investments now could make all the difference to your portfolio tomorrow. Click here to learn more. Now, let's look at what we covered here at this past week… Wednesday, May 7, 2025 The companies that are building AI data centers need to find the right 'sound' to fulfill their energy needs. And when it comes to powering the data centers that support AI, one 'sound' – nuclear energy – has no equal. And there's one specific way you can capitalize on its future. Thursday, May 8, 2025 The Federal Reserve concluded its latest policy meeting last week. My colleague Louis Navellier sat down with InvestorPlace Editor-in-Chief Luis Hernandez to talk about the Fed's decision. Louis shares a tip on how investors can profit regardless of what's happening in the market. Saturday, May 10, 2025 Everyone knows that 1) high growth, 2) high-profit companies bought at 3) low prices are the key to success. But it's hard to find 'triple threats' that combine these three things into a single package. That's why finding these type of firms is one of the greatest joys in investing. My colleague Tom Yeung digs up one place you can find winning triple-threat plays. Sunday, May 11, 2025 Stocks just endured one of the fastest and most violent crashes in modern history. But then came the biggest comeback rally in the past 100 years. And InvestorPlace's Luke Lango believes that momentum is building. So, he shares more about the summer rally that is fast approaching… and an easy-to-use quant tool that you can use to profit. Agentic AI isn't the same as artificial general intelligence, or AGI. When we reach that stage, that's when AI will achieve human-like cognitive abilities. However, agentic AI is an important precursor to the Road to AGI. The advent of AGI is something that I've been keeping an eye on. And with each new AI milestone, we're getting ever closer. Investors who are unprepared will miss the transformative opportunities that AGI will bring. But those who position themselves correctly could witness the greatest moneymaking opportunity in human history – with the possibility to surpass even the Internet Revolution. In fact, I'm issuing my 'final warning' on AGI in a new free broadcast event later this week. I first started talking about AGI last August, when I warned that we are closer to AGI than most people think. And that many are unable to even fathom the kinds of changes this quantum leap in technology will usher in. Back then, hardly anyone had heard of AGI. But now, with a new administration in the White House, the acceleration toward the inevitable is gaining steam. The $500 billion Project Stargate, announced on President Trump's first day in office, is proof of that. If you missed my message last year, you are getting a second chance to take action at later this week. I've identified several companies that are strategically positioned to capitalize on this coming wave of this current 'pre-AGI' market. I'll have everything you need to know about those companies and my final AGI warning later this week. Watch your inbox for an invitation. Regards, Eric Fry The post Donât Miss Out: AI Agents Are Becoming Techâs Next Battleground appeared first on InvestorPlace. Sign in to access your portfolio
Scottish Sun
04-05-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
Amazon issues update on major Alexa changes coming to millions of speakers and warns several key features are missing
AI-powered Alexa+ promises smarter help- but big features are still missing TECH YOUR TIME Amazon issues update on major Alexa changes coming to millions of speakers and warns several key features are missing AMAZON has officially updated customers on a change coming to millions of its speakers. More than 100,000 people are understood to already be using Alexa+, which was unveiled at an AI event in New York last year. Advertisement 4 Alexa+ should, eventually, help you handle everything from turning off the lights and adjusting your thermostat to ordering dinner or finding the perfect birthday gift Credit: Alamy 4 Amazon's goal is to push that figure to 90 per cent as its Nova Act browsing engine improves Credit: Getty Images - Getty 4 Some features expected at launch have been delayed because they didn't meet Amazon's release standards Credit: Getty Images - Getty The new and ultra-smart version of Alexa, hailed as "remarkable" by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, promises a more human-like interaction thanks to generative AI. That might sound small compared to the 600 million Alexa devices worldwide, but it marks a big step forward. Alexa+, first introduced in February, is being gradually expanded to more users over the coming months. This upgraded assistant is designed to handle more complex tasks: from booking restaurants to suggesting recipes and managing smart home gadgets, all with less user effort. It's a big shift away from the old Alexa's scripted answers. Advertisement Instead, Alexa+ generates responses on the fly, much like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, making conversations feel smoother and more responsive. However, many of the headline-grabbing features shown in early demos are still missing. According to Tech Edt, Alexa+ can't yet generate bedtime stories, recommend gifts, or place food delivery orders through services like Grubhub. Jassy admitted during the May 2 earnings call that Alexa+ remains 'primitive,' with multi-step task accuracy currently sitting between 30 per cent and 60 per cent. Advertisement Still, Amazon's goal is to push that figure to 90 per cent as its Nova Act browsing engine improves. Amazon's hardware chief Panos Panay described the new Alexa as knowing 'almost every instrument in your life' — from smart home devices and mobile apps to the people you're connected with. That means Alexa+ should, eventually, help you handle everything from turning off the lights and adjusting your thermostat to ordering dinner or finding the perfect birthday gift. But it's not just about what Alexa+ can do — it's also about how it does it. Advertisement The assistant now speaks with more expressive, natural voices, and it's better at handling pauses, stumbles, and emotional cues in your speech. For example, if you start a sentence and change your mind halfway, Alexa+ should still understand. That said, the rollout hasn't been entirely smooth. Some features expected at launch have been delayed because they didn't meet Amazon's release standards. Advertisement The Washington Post reported that functions like visual recognition of family members, personalised chore reminders, and certain U.S.-only services like Grubhub ordering have been pushed back by at least two months. Another controversial point is data management. While Alexa+ can now read and summarise uploaded documents — such as legal contracts or family recipes, users currently can't delete these files on their own. Instead, they must contact Amazon support, and even then, some data might remain on record. Advertisement Only newer Echo Show devices (like the Echo Show 8, 10, and 15) currently support Alexa+, meaning owners of older Echo models or certain Fire TV products will need to upgrade if they want to access the new assistant. There's also a web version at but a related project known internally as Metis — a chatbot designed to compete with ChatGPT — hasn't launched yet. What is Alexa? If you've never heard of Alexa, here's what you need to know... Alexa is an 'intelligent' personal assistant built by Amazon. You can find her on several different devices, including Amazon's Echo speakers. Alexa responds to voice commands, and can talk back to you. She can perform thousands of different tasks, including telling you about the news or weather. But she can do more complex things too, like ordering a pizza or arranging an Uber taxi pick-up. To activate Alexa, you need to say 'Alexa' to an Amazon Echo speaker. Because she's powered by artificial intelligence, Alexa is constantly getting smarter. Alexa will also get more used to your voice, and better understand what you want her to do over time.
The Sun
04-05-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Amazon issues update on major Alexa changes coming to millions of speakers and warns several key features are missing
AMAZON has officially updated customers on a change coming to millions of its speakers. More than 100,000 people are understood to already be using Alexa+, which was unveiled at an AI event in New York last year. 4 The new and ultra-smart version of Alexa, hailed as "remarkable" by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, promises a more human-like interaction thanks to generative AI. That might sound small compared to the 600 million Alexa devices worldwide, but it marks a big step forward. Alexa+, first introduced in February, is being gradually expanded to more users over the coming months. This upgraded assistant is designed to handle more complex tasks: from booking restaurants to suggesting recipes and managing smart home gadgets, all with less user effort. It's a big shift away from the old Alexa's scripted answers. Instead, Alexa+ generates responses on the fly, much like OpenAI's ChatGPT or Google's Gemini, making conversations feel smoother and more responsive. However, many of the headline-grabbing features shown in early demos are still missing. According to Tech Edt, Alexa+ can't yet generate bedtime stories, recommend gifts, or place food delivery orders through services like Grubhub. Jassy admitted during the May 2 earnings call that Alexa+ remains 'primitive,' with multi-step task accuracy currently sitting between 30 per cent and 60 per cent. Still, Amazon's goal is to push that figure to 90 per cent as its Nova Act browsing engine improves. Amazon's hardware chief Panos Panay described the new Alexa as knowing 'almost every instrument in your life' — from smart home devices and mobile apps to the people you're connected with. That means Alexa+ should, eventually, help you handle everything from turning off the lights and adjusting your thermostat to ordering dinner or finding the perfect birthday gift. But it's not just about what Alexa+ can do — it's also about how it does it. The assistant now speaks with more expressive, natural voices, and it's better at handling pauses, stumbles, and emotional cues in your speech. For example, if you start a sentence and change your mind halfway, Alexa+ should still understand. That said, the rollout hasn't been entirely smooth. Some features expected at launch have been delayed because they didn't meet Amazon's release standards. The Washington Post reported that functions like visual recognition of family members, personalised chore reminders, and certain U.S.-only services like Grubhub ordering have been pushed back by at least two months. Another controversial point is data management. While Alexa+ can now read and summarise uploaded documents — such as legal contracts or family recipes, users currently can't delete these files on their own. Instead, they must contact Amazon support, and even then, some data might remain on record. Only newer Echo Show devices (like the Echo Show 8, 10, and 15) currently support Alexa+, meaning owners of older Echo models or certain Fire TV products will need to upgrade if they want to access the new assistant. There's also a web version at but a related project known internally as Metis — a chatbot designed to compete with ChatGPT — hasn't launched yet. 4
The Irish Sun
04-05-2025
- Business
- The Irish Sun
Amazon issues update on major Alexa changes coming to millions of speakers and warns several key features are missing
AMAZON has officially updated customers on a change coming to millions of its speakers. More than 100,000 people are understood to already be using Alexa+, which was unveiled at an AI event in New York last year. Advertisement 4 Alexa+ should, eventually, help you handle everything from turning off the lights and adjusting your thermostat to ordering dinner or finding the perfect birthday gift Credit: Alamy 4 Amazon's goal is to push that figure to 90 per cent as its Nova Act browsing engine improves Credit: Getty Images - Getty 4 Some features expected at launch have been delayed because they didn't meet Amazon's release standards Credit: Getty Images - Getty The new and ultra-smart version of Alexa, hailed as "remarkable" by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, promises a more human-like interaction thanks to generative AI. That might sound small compared to the 600 million Alexa devices worldwide, but it marks a big step forward. Alexa+, first introduced in February, is being gradually expanded to more users over the coming months. This upgraded assistant is designed to handle more complex tasks: from booking It's a big shift away from the old Alexa's scripted answers. Advertisement Read more on Tech Instead, Alexa+ generates responses on the fly, much like OpenAI's ChatGPT or However, many of the headline-grabbing features shown in early demos are still missing. According to , Alexa+ can't yet generate bedtime stories, recommend gifts, or place food delivery orders through services like Grubhub. Jassy admitted during the May 2 earnings call that Alexa+ remains 'primitive,' with multi-step task accuracy currently sitting between 30 per cent and 60 per cent. Advertisement Most read in Tech Still, Amazon's goal is to push that figure to 90 per cent as its Nova Act browsing engine improves. That means Alexa+ should, eventually, help you handle everything from turning off the lights and adjusting your thermostat to ordering dinner or finding the perfect birthday gift. But it's not just about what Alexa+ can do — it's also about how it does it. Advertisement The assistant now speaks with more expressive, natural voices, and it's better at handling pauses, stumbles, and emotional cues in your speech. For example, if you start a sentence and change your mind halfway, Alexa+ should still understand. That said, the rollout hasn't been entirely smooth. Advertisement The Washington Post reported that functions like visual recognition of family members, personalised chore reminders, and certain U.S.-only services like Grubhub ordering have been pushed back by at least two months. Another controversial point is data management. While Alexa+ can now read and summarise uploaded documents — such as legal contracts or family recipes, users currently can't delete these files on their own. Instead, they must contact Amazon support, and even then, some data might remain on record. Advertisement Only newer Echo Show devices (like the Echo Show 8, 10, and 15) currently support Alexa+, meaning owners of older Echo models or certain Fire TV products will need to upgrade if they want to access the new assistant. There's also a web version at but a related project known internally as Metis — a chatbot designed to compete with ChatGPT — hasn't launched yet. What is Alexa? If you've never heard of Alexa, here's what you need to know... Alexa is an 'intelligent' personal assistant built by Amazon. You can find her on several different devices, including Amazon's Echo speakers. Alexa responds to voice commands, and can talk back to you. She can perform thousands of different tasks, including telling you about the news or weather. But she can do more complex things too, like ordering a pizza or arranging an Uber taxi pick-up. To activate Alexa, you need to say 'Alexa' to an Amazon Echo speaker. Because she's powered by artificial intelligence, Alexa is constantly getting smarter. Alexa will also get more used to your voice, and better understand what you want her to do over time. 4 Many of the headline-grabbing features shown in early demos are still missing Credit: Alamy
Forbes
14-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Amazon Unleashes New AI Agents Ready To Take Over Your Daily Tasks
Amazon's new agentic AI system, "Nova Act," is set to transform how we interact with technology in ... More our homes, potentially outperforming competitors from OpenAI and Anthropic. The next wave of AI transformation will be driven by agents. Rather than simply asking questions or following prompts, these AI tools will carry out complex tasks and act with far more autonomy. This will change a lot of things as we become able to delegate more and more tasks to machines. By connecting with external applications, agents can take care of shopping, scheduling, managing travel, and many of our day-to-day interactions with digital services. Amazon has long been on a mission to bring AI into the home, and the sound of Alexa's voice is familiar around the world (even if it has been reported that she's mostly used as a very overpowered timer.) With homes increasingly filled with smart gadgets, agentic AI clearly has the potential to further streamline the way we engage with technology in our homes. However, Amazon's plans are likely to go further. Here's what we know about them so far and a look at what it could mean for smart homes of the future. Amazon recently became the latest of the AI giants to unveil their own agentic AI model, called Nova Act. Similar to ChatGPT Operator, it can take control of a web browser and use it to do many of the same things we can do. When you think of how many day-to-day activities we use apps on our phones for, it becomes clear how big the impact of this on our lives could be. According to Amazon, Nova Act is capable of booking trips, completing online purchases and managing calendars and to-do lists. One difference between Nova Act and competing agentic platforms like Operator is that the technology will be built into an upcoming upgrade to Alexa. This could potentially be amazing, with home AI assistants becoming much more useful. Of course, there would be some fairly sturdy privacy guardrails in place for technology like this that could potentially gather very intimate details of our day-to-day lives. According to this TechCrunch report, Nova Act outperforms competitors, including tools from OpenAI and Anthropic, at some of the key tests used to rate agentic AI performance. Rival agentic services like Operator and Manus may be available (like Nova Act, they are research previews) but don't have this same potential backdoor into millions of homes. Popular voice assistants brought mainstream adoption for voice-activated computing, but they have been slow to integrate LLM technology of the type used by ChatGPT. After chatting to a voice LLM chatbot like ChatGPT, going back to trying to have a conversational user experience with Alexa (or Siri, or whoever) is frustrating. They're clearly far less good at holding a conversation or understanding nuanced commands. What they are good at, though, is working with an ecosystem of connected apps and services. By jumping to agentic, Amazon can make home assistants that are capable and conversational like ChatGPT but also have a framework for communicating and controlling external services, as Alexa and Siri can. We've recently seen Apple integrate its Apple Intelligence platform into Siri in the hope it will lead to an "iPhone moment" for genAI-equipped handsets. Google is taking a slightly different approach, with its Gemini chatbot acting as a standalone voice AI rather than attempting to integrate with the existing Google Assistant. For the moment, at least. So it's clear that the big AI companies all think the time is right for us to start welcoming the next generation of agentic smart technology into our homes. But would that actually be a smart idea? Agentic AI has the potential to be hugely transformational. And so there are some pretty big concerns that need to be addressed before we can be confident that society has an informed view of the risks and challenges. These include cybersecurity concerns. Whenever we integrate new technology, particularly into our homes, we need to be sure we aren't creating new vulnerabilities that can be targeted. Then there's the glaring issue of privacy. Concerns have long existed about how securely smart speakers protect the personal conversations they hear. With autonomous, always-active agents, the risk of privacy invasion becomes even greater. More generally, some people are concerned that becoming too reliant on AI for menial and routine tasks could lead to us becoming over-reliant and helpless, perhaps even to the detriment of human problem-solving or decision-making ability. We should also consider the potential ramifications of AI hallucinations. No one is really sure how the LLM chatbot's propensity to simply make things up will transfer and scale to an agentic, action-based system, but it's not difficult to predict that things could get messy. At the end of the day, though, I think it's inevitable that agentic AI will play an increasingly major role in our lives, including in the home. Amazon has as good a shot at making it happen as anyone, thanks to the market penetration of Echo and Alexa. But one thing that's certain is that with AI, everything is still to play for. In the near future, many more services and devices will offer agentic AI in the home as we start to get a better understanding of what it can do and how it can help us.
