As the battle of the smart assistant continues to heat up, Amazon has launched beta testing for ‘Alexa Answers’, enabling users to respond to questions it doesn’t answer.
Launched as an invitation only program, Amazon claims to have added 100,000 responses to Alexa during its last month of internal testing.
According to The Verge, invited customers can browse through several topics (e.g. geography, science), and submit responses to currently unanswered questions.
The most engaged customers and reviewers from Amazon.com have reportedly been among first participants.
Fast Company claims users can vote up/down certain answers, thereby moderating submissions.
Answers will reportedly be served to other Alexa customers, attributed to “an Amazon customer.”
The program is tipped to lift the credibility of Alexa responses, reducing the instance of answers pulled from questionable Wikipedia sources.
Automated filters seek to prevent potentially offensive and profane questions.
Depending on the success of its public beta test, Amazon will reportedly assess whether Alexa Answers opens up worldwide.
