Alexa is getting better at answering users' questions (AMZN)

This story was delivered to Business Insider Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers hours before appearing on Business Insider. To be the first to know, please click here.

Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is getting better at answering users’ questions, according to the latest December voice assistant IQ test from Loup Ventures.

Researchers asked the voice assistant 800 different queries within five categories: local, navigation, information, commerce, and command.

Queries Alexa Answered Correctly, by Category

On average, Alexa answered queries accurately 73% of the time, up 12 percentage points from 61% in July.

Improving query response accuracy is important for enhancing the user experience, especially among US consumers, as over half (53%) value a voice assistant’s ability to understand their questions above all else, according to Voicebot.

And as the race to offer the most intelligent and convenient voice assistant heats up, it’s crucial that Amazon continues to improve Alexa’s accuracy to keep up with the competition.

Alexa’s query response accuracy improved considerably in December in two categories — informational and command questions:

Alexa answered informational questions accurately 91% of the time, up from 78% in July. Information questions can range from discovering a country’s population to identifying how long it takes water to freeze.
The voice assistant improved its command query response accuracy to 68%, up from 54% in July. Command queries involve voice assistants performing actions, such as asking them to set reminders, play music, or call a friend.

Alexa’s heightened query response accuracy is likely in part due to a number of steps Amazon has taken to improve the voice assistant over the past couple months. In August, Amazon launched Answer Updates, which enables the voice assistant to notify users when it learns the answer to a previously asked question.

Later in September, Amazon improved Alexa’s sports-related knowledge by enabling it to provide more information surrounding football, including injury updates, predictions on who will win games, betting lines, and records and statistics about teams and players.

The voice assistant is expected to continue to improve its response accuracy going forward. Amazon launched Alexa Answers in December, enabling Alexa users to answer questions the voice assistant is unable to answer on its own.

Additionally, Context Carryover, announced in May, will enable the voice assistant to understand and follow conversational questions and follow-up questions, without having the user repeat the “Alexa” wake-up word.

Join the conversation about this story »