## Amazon Announces New Chatbot Q
Amazon announced its latest venture, a chatbot named Q, on Tuesday at the Amazon Web Services’ Reinvent conference in Las Vegas. The new chatbot, created for people to use at work, presents Amazon’s bid to challenge Microsoft and Google in the realm of productivity software.
### Features and Cost
A preview version of Q, named after the character in the James Bond movies, has been made available. Several of its features are free during the preview period, and once that period ends, business and IT users can acquire the chatbot for $20 and $25 per person per month respectively. This pricing structure presents Q as a cheaper alternative to Microsoft’s Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Google’s Duet AI, both of which cost $30 per person per month.
### Versatility
During the unveiling of the chatbot at Reinvent, CEO of AWS, Adam Selipsky, highlighted some key features of Q. He mentioned that it can aid in understanding the capabilities of AWS and system troubleshooting. The chatbot will be accessible through communication apps such as Salesforce’s Slack and software developers’ text-editing applications. It will also make an appearance in AWS’ online Management Console and can provide documented citations to support its chat responses. Furthermore, Selipsky mentioned that Q has the capability to make automatic changes to source code, significantly reducing the workload for developers. The chatbot will have the ability to connect to more than 40 enterprise systems, making it a valuable addition for professionals to discuss information stored across multiple platforms such Windows 365, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Zendesk.
### Experts’ Opinions
The Futurum Group, a technology industry research firm, believes that Q will be a game changer. Vice President and practice leader, Steven Dickens, mentioned, “AWS has resisted the urge to make an AI assistant for each service in its portfolio and, as a result, I expect to see Q become widely adopted in the months ahead by both developers and cloud admins alike.”
### Potential Impact
While Amazon’s revenue from AWS primarily consists of core computing and storage services, they have introduced several end-user applications over the years. These include tools for managing supply chains, email, encrypted messaging, video calling, customer service, and marketing outreach. However, none of these applications have attained a runaway hit status.
In conclusion, with the introduction of Q, Amazon aims to solidify its presence in the productivity software market and lure potential users with an alternative that offers similar features at a more economical price point. This could potentially drive significant business growth for Amazon Web Services.
