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Alexa: Amazon virtual assistant answers to graphs

The Alexa Presentation Language is the latest addition to the smart assistant toolkit and more than voice explanations can now offer users "visual" results with images, graphics and text. Getty Images, one of the world's largest picture banks, has already signed an agreement with Jeff Bezos technology so that smart Echo columns can use their images to illustrate some of Alexa's responses to user requests.In practice, this means that what could be heard can now be seen in a complementary way. If you ask the virtual assistant "Who won the World Cup in 2018", will hear a voice answering "France", but the column, if integrated a display, will also display a picture of the team with the answer.It should be noted that Amazon was not only a pioneer in the segment of smart speakers. More recently, the brand has chosen to renew this range with variants that integrate a small screen where you can view contextual and everyday information. Currently, the US brand has the Echo Show and the small Echo Spot in this segment of the market, where competition is not so tight. However, according to the rumors, this may change soon, as Google may be developing similar equipment, which may be released as early as the last quarter of the year.Partnering with Getty may give Amazon some head start, so it gains access to an up-to-date, almost inexhaustible source of images that can illustrate some of the latest happenings. "Our collection ... naturally fits Amazon's new Echo product range by giving the best viewing experience to its users," Peter Orlowsky, vice president of the department's strategic development department, said in a statement. Getty Images.In Amazon's blog the strategy is explained with a special focus on programmers who can take advantage of this functionality, but on the site developers can still explore the entire library of tools that Amazon provides for anyone who wants to work with Alexa.



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