A year after OpenAI disrupted the tech market with ChatGPT, Amazon launched a chatbot called “Q”.
The bot is powered by artificial intelligence, and Amazon says that businesses can use Q to sum up pages of content, group calls, and other communication which would augment overall productivity.
Other competitors have launched their own AI products such as Google launching Bard chatbot and Microsoft with Copilots, but Amazon was quiet until now and believes their product can become an essential tool to employees’ workflows.
Critics have wondered why Amazon has waited this long to join the other tech titans with their own answer to a new AI offering, but Adam Selipsky, the chief executive of Amazon Web Services, said that before Q could be launched, it was a priority to ensure the bot would protect the large amount of corporate data in its cloud servers and keep their information private.
“[Many businesses] told me that they had banned these AI assistants from the enterprise because of the security and privacy concerns,” he said.
Selipsky also said Amazon designed Q to be more safeguarded and private than an average consumer, outlining that the new bot will have the same security permissions that enterprise consumers have already set up for their users.
At a company where an employee in marketing may not have access to sensitive financial forecasts, Q can emulate that by not providing that employee with such financial data when asked.
The bot can also mimic a real-world scenario where a marketing employee does not have the privilege to access confidential financial data, which means Q will not reveal such information to them when they ask.
Microsoft is still deemed to be leader over other big tech businesses after its substantial investment in ChatGPT but not Amazon has entered the AI ring, however, we will have to wait to see how Q differs from its competitors and measures up.
Q can be used in more ways than summing up data, but Amazon says businesses could also use them for main business applications, which would boost the company’s cloud computing services.
Amazon says that businesses can also use the bot to help with customer queries, analyse data generate charts, and help companies with their coding requirements.
“We think Q has the potential to become a work companion for millions and millions of people in their work life,” said in an interview.
Additionally, after Amazon has observed obstacles and other lawsuits be brought against companies such as OpenAI, the e-commerce titan has said it would shield businesses from copyright issues occurring from bot use.
Amazon Q is not yet available in Australia but in the states, pricing starts at $20 per user each month, whereas Microsoft and Google both charge $30 a month.
