Amazon has announced its Echo line of products will receive an incredible new feature that will allow Alexa to give more precise details about local businesses.
The tech giant has partnered with Yext, a company specialising in business data that is distilled from the likes of Google and Facebook.
This will allow users access to precise phone numbers, addresses and opening hours of businesses around them.
Announcing the partnership with Amazon, Yext said: “With this new relationship, consumers using Alexa for voice search can receive the most up-to-date facts about businesses—locations, contact information, hours of operation, and more—straight from the source: the business itself.”
Howard Lerman, the founder and CEO of the digital knowledge specialist, insisted the partnership will allow Alexa to provide more “authoritative” answers to users.
He stated: “Today is a quantum leap forward in Yext’s mission to give businesses control over their digital knowledge and provide consumers with perfect information everywhere.
“Amazon has changed the world with its innovative, market-leading voice-enabled devices, the Amazon Echo family of smart speakers, and the Alexa voice service.
“Now, the tens of millions of consumers who ask Alexa questions can get authoritative answers from the business itself with the Yext Knowledge Engine.”
Yext attempts to bring users the most precise answers possible by partnering with businesses directly to ensure information is correct.
This means, in theory, if a business is closing early on a bank holiday it will notify Yext who would then work with Amazon to ensure hours are updated when a user asks their Echo.
The update is currently available in the UK, US and Australia among others but will both companies plan to radically expand the roll out in the future.
Prior to the new partnership the Amazon Echo would pull data from Yelp, a review forum, that would identify similar information that may not have been as precise.
This allowed users to ask what the most popular Chinese restaurant was near them for instance and get an answer from Alexa.
The update provides a radical challenge to Google Home that also offers similar functionality.
The Silicon Valley giant’s speaker is able to obtain information from its vast Google Maps and Search data pool.
Over the years Google has got much better about updating the app information that is subject to change such as business opening hours.
On instances Google is uncertain on whether business hours will be affected on a bank holiday for instance it will alert users by saying they may be subject to change.