Ford Expands Alexa Use, Heating Up Auto Personal Assistant Battle

Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F) is expanding the use of Amazon.com’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Alexa personal assistant in its vehicles to allow drivers to talk to their cars – demanding anything from a nearby coffee to a snow report – marking a leap by the Detroit automaker to incorporate technology initially targeted for home use. The developing alliance between Amazon and Ford, announced on Wednesday at the CES tech show in Las Vegas, underscores the importance to both automakers and internet commerce companies of connecting consumers on the move to a richer array of digital services.
As quoted in the press release:

Don Butler, Ford’s executive director of connected vehicle and services, told Reuters the technology represented the “deepest integration of any OEM (carmaker) inside a vehicle with Alexa.”
The two companies are talking about how to take the Alexa partnership further, according to Butler. “Digital assistant is one tool that is increasingly prevalent in the industry,” he said.

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