Building a global Alexa+: How Amazon is teaching AI to understand culture, not just language

In late January, Alexa+ launched in Mexico with a mission that went far beyond simple translation. Amazon's more capable AI assistant needed to sound like a local—understanding not just the Spanish language, but the country’s cultural nuances, humor, and conversational rhythms, all of which would make her interactions feel natural and authentic.

It was the first version of Alexa+ to launch in a language other than English (Italy has since followed), and the culmination of a long effort to give the AI assistant a higher cultural IQ and EQ (emotional intelligence).

Alexa+ launches in the UK, the first country in Europe to get Amazon's next-generation AI assistant Powered by generative AI, the smarter, more conversational Alexa can complete tasks from start to finish—and is genuinely British.

"I don't think the previous version of Alexa would understand what ‘chido’ meant—or when to use it," says Marta Morales, the Mexico country manager for Alexa+, to give an example. ‘Chido’ is Mexican slang for ‘cool’, but it's typically reserved for objects or experiences, like a piece of music or a concert. ‘Buena onda’ is used to describe cool people.

“It’s important that Alexa+ feels like part of the family,” says Marta Morales, the Mexico country manager for the digital assistant. That means keeping up with slang and the nuances of the local culture. "She also now knows that ‘ahorita’ can mean five minutes or several hours, depending on context.

The power of Alexa+, however, comes from the dynamic evolution where she will continue to understand these nuances as the language and slang evolves with new generations. "This adds a layer of closeness and intimacy with Alexa," Morales adds.

"People interact with Alexa while they're in the kitchen, home office, or bedroom, spaces that are reserved for family or close friends. That's why it's important for us that Alexa feels like part of the family."

Getting the cultural details right The group behind this effort—which included engineering, data science, and country-specific teams—had to localize Alexa+ for a country of more than 130 million people. They worked to identify words that were local but also common enough throughout the country that Alexa+ felt like a native everywhere.

Teaching Alexa+ when and how to use slang and idioms—and with what level of formality—was critical. Too little, they'd lose authenticity. Too much, it might perpetuate stereotypes. “As we were preparing Alexa+ for Canada, we originally found too many moose references in responses,” says Carlos Perez, director for Alexa in the Americas.

“Similarly, while developing the Spanish Mexico experience, we wanted expressions like 'orale' to make her sound natural—but not in every response." “These improvements aren’t just for Mexico,” says Carlos Perez, director for Alexa in the Americas. "Our ambition is to go to many, many more languages," Perez said.

"We also know that Alexa in Mexico can be more free with comedy,” Perez adds. “It's part of the culture and what you would expect from a human assistant too.” It took time to get that right. Tom Butler, principal scientist at Amazon for multilingual LLMs (large-language models), remembers getting feedback that the Mexican Alexa+ sounded unnaturally stiff.

So, the engineering team implemented this feedback into Alexa+'s LLM architecture to make her less formal and more friendly and upbeat. Additionally, as multigenerational living is common in Mexico, Alexa+ needed to be age appropriate for multiple demographics in one home, from young kids to grandparents.

The personalization layer and memory components of Alexa+ then build on top of that foundation to create an experience that feels natural and personalized. "We chose Mexico to launch first because it's one of the places where the Alexa brand is the most beloved," said Prasad Kapila, tech director for global engineering.

"Mexico is also a top consumer of music streaming products, and Alexa is a natural interface to discover new music. "The relevance of entertainment and music to Mexican culture paired with a device that gives you unlimited streaming of music becomes a powerful enabler of that part of the culture," Morales said.

Retraining Alexa to think and act in Spanish Along with improving natural conversations, the Alexa+ team worked on the capabilities that lets the digital assistant perform actual tasks like booking reservations, making purchases, and controlling smart devices. One of the main challenges when it came to localizing Alexa outside the U. S.

is that most models are trained on data that reflects how common English is on the internet. For example, if a Spanish speaker asked her to play a Bruce Springsteen song, Like Dancing in the Dark or Tougher than the Rest, she might respond in English since the bulk of the request contains English words, says M