Keep up with the innovative tech transforming business
Tech Brew keeps business leaders up-to-date on the latest innovations, automation advances, policy shifts, and more, so they can make informed decisions about tech.
There’s a new AI-powered, voice-controlled personal assistant in town, and it can speak to you in the voice of Chewbacca. Or Donald Duck. Or a Muppet.
Hey Disney!, available now for owners of certain Alexa-enabled smart-home devices, is exactly what it sounds like: A custom voice assistant, built with the technology that powers Amazon Alexa, but with a perhaps cuter, Disney-inspired personality.
Branded Alexa partnerships are nothing new for Amazon, which has built custom capabilities that can help with tasks ranging from ordering Starbucks and Panera to scheduling a ride with Uber.
But the release of Hey Disney! is a notable first in the still-evolving voice assistant landscape: It’s the first custom assistant built by an outside brand using Alexa technology to reach the general public.
Amazon’s Alexa Custom Assistant solution, announced in 2021, lets companies build their own branded voice assistants (including custom wake words, voices, personalities, and capabilities) using Alexa technology. And while Disney isn’t the first (or only) brand to take advantage of the offering, its new assistant is first to market.
That enterprise offering is a key part of Amazon’s “partner engagement philosophy” for voice assistant technology, VP of Alexa Aaron Rubenson said in an interview with Tech Brew.
“We make products that help partners customize the AI experience for their brands and for their customers,” Rubenson explained. “And brands love this, of course, because it allows them to give voice and intelligence to their brands.”
Disney initially debuted its custom assistant on Echo Show devices in its resorts around the country, Rubenson said, calling it a “great example” of that strategy.
Update, June 15, 2023: This story has been updated to accurately reflect the name of the product.