Amazon is pushing the boundaries of its Alexa AI assistant, integrating it into more aspects of daily life with enhanced home security features, AI-powered Kindle summaries, and innovative pet-tracking capabilities. The tech giant's advancements aim to create a more personalized, proactive, and helpful user experience.
Smarter Home Security
Alexa Home Security provides a voice-controlled system that allows users to manage and monitor their home security remotely. Alexa can integrate with third-party security systems, offering control through a single dashboard and voice commands. Alexa-enabled devices can manage the home environment and security system, providing remote access and control of connected devices. With the "Alexa, I am leaving" command, Alexa can automatically lock doors and enable security cameras.
The Alexa Guard feature can detect sounds like breaking glass or smoke alarms, sending alerts to mobile devices. Users can listen to recordings of detected sounds and confirm emergency situations. Alexa Guard can also turn smart lights on and off to simulate occupancy. For a fee, Alexa Guard Plus offers hands-free access to an emergency helpline and deters intruders with specific sounds. Several security systems such as SimpliSafe, Ring Alarm, ADT, and Vivint, integrate with Amazon Alexa. Eufy security cameras seamlessly integrate with Amazon Alexa, enabling voice-activated control and real-time monitoring.
AI-Powered Kindle Summaries
Amazon has introduced an AI-powered "Recaps" feature for Kindle devices. This feature generates summaries of book series, helping readers refresh themselves on storylines and characters before starting a new book. The "Recaps" feature can be accessed through the Kindle e-reader menu or Kindle Library.
To ensure accuracy, Amazon uses a combination of generative AI and human moderators to create the summaries. A spoiler warning is displayed before accessing the recap. Amazon has also integrated AI into Kindle with a new AI-powered notebook search that allows users to use natural language to find handwritten notes across multiple journals. The 'Remind Me Where I Left Off' feature uses AI to summarise previous reading sessions. The "Story So Far" feature gives an AI-generated recap of what happened in the story the last time it was opened. The "Ask This Book" feature allows readers to highlight text and get spoiler-free answers to questions about a character's motive or the significance of a scene. In early 2026, users will be able to send notes and documents from Kindle Scribe to Alexa Plus and have a conversation about them.
Pet-Tracking Capabilities
Alexa can help pet owners keep an eye on their animals. Ring cameras, which are Amazon-owned, offer features like Two-Way Talk and Color Night Vision, allowing owners to see and communicate with their pets via the Ring app and compatible Alexa devices.
Alexa Routines can be set up to play calming music or send notifications when a dog barks for an extended period. Pet owners can also create a pet profile in the Neighbors App to help find missing pets. Pet cameras are designed to be compatible with Amazon Alexa, allowing users to monitor their pets using voice commands on devices like the Amazon Echo Show or Fire TV. With the "Comfort My Dog" Alexa Skill, Echo devices will play music to help pets feel more relaxed. Tracki also offers a skill that allows users to ask Alexa where their pets are. Pawfit GPS trackers offer live location and activity tracking, customizable safety zones, and a voice recall feature.
These updates reflect Amazon's ongoing commitment to expanding Alexa's capabilities through AI, creating a more integrated and user-friendly experience across various aspects of daily life.
