Amazon turns up the heat down under with the launch of the ‘Spicy Alexa’ experience

14 NOVEMBER 2024, Sydney: This month marks a decade of Alexa globally and to celebrate the milestone, Amazon Australia has introduced a new Alexa experience, dubbed ‘Spicy Alexa’. The experience marries Alexa’s fiery Scorpio side and the insight that Aussies ask Alexa to insult them four times more often than they ask to be complimented – a trend unique to Australia! 

Inspired by the fun, unique way that Aussies engage with Alexa, the ‘Spicy Alexa’ experience gives Aussies what they’re craving – hot takes and wisecracks. The experience will include the following quirky features, accessed by saying “Alexa, make it spicy” to any Amazon Echo device: 

• Fiery Insults: If Alexa’s regular zingers are too mild for you, these will turn up the heat.
• Twisted Horoscopes: Your day at a sideways glance – come for the ‘cosmic insights’, stay for the snark.
• Fart Gallery: Toots for every mood! Taking customer fart fandom to rumbling new depths.
• Bad Beats: Music that’ll get you moving... away. Alexa’s ludicrous beatboxing and random raps get their spiciest treatment ever. 

On the creation of the new experience, Kate Gooden, Country Manager for Amazon Alexa, Australia and New Zealand, explains, “Known for the sting of their tails, Scorpios bring their signature wit and fire to any conversation. In reaching a decade milestone, we’re excited to introduce “Spicy Alexa” – the older, wiser and spicier alter-ego to the persona that Aussies already know and love.”

Since its launch in 2014, Alexa has been on a mission to become the world’s best personal assistant, created to help make everyday life easier, with the ability to entertain, keep you organised, and stay connected. Today there are over half a billion Alexa-enabled devices in homes around the world, with millions of interactions with these devices taking place every day. 

Personalising the Alexa experience to be culturally relevant for Australians has always been a priority, says Gooden.  “The ANZ Alexa team is proudly local and constantly working to create a great localised experience for Aussies. In fact, before Amazon was set to launch Alexa in Australia, all the way back in 2018, we knew it would be important for Alexa to understand what a serv-o is, a sanga and even an esky. Building delightful, locally relevant experiences for Aussies is what makes our jobs so fun.” 

Since launching in Australia, Alexa has become a central part of Aussie customers’ daily routines, enabling them to get things done and enjoy more time in the moment whilst also having fun at the same time. This includes:

• Thanks to Alexa’s drag name generator, a created-for-Australia experience that was built for Mardi Gras, Alexa has created thousands of drag names for Aussies, from Saucy Mornay to Mama Rosé. Just ask: ‘Alexa, what’s my drag name?’
• Alexa’s two unique localised voices, entertaining Aussies who like Alexa with a local flair, fluent in a variety of Aussie slang – from Sparrow’s Fart to Parmi (controversial for Victorians), and who even has the ability to “play a banger”, when asked.
• Savvy Aussie customers have been using time-saving, convenient routines over 279 million times in the last 12 months, seeing an increase of 40% YoY 

The ‘Spicy Alexa’ experience is available for Aussie customer to experience from today by saying “Alexa, make it spicy” to any Amazon Echo device. 

ENDS

Aussies and Alexa fast facts:  

• Australians are four times more likely to ask Alexa to insult them than compliment them - “Alexa, insult me“
  • In the month of September, Australia ranked top by requests per user globally
  • The Australian team built the “insult me” Alexa experience, which was then replicated worldwide
• A wild experience created in Australia is the “Alexa, which deadly animal am I?” quiz, which is consistently listed as a favourite
• Alexa’s drag name generator is an Australian experience that was built for Mardi Gras – from names like Saucy Mornay to Mama Rosé – Alexa is not short on drag inspiration!
• Alexa has two Aussie accents to choose from, that are both well versed in a variety of “Aussie” terms/slang words – from Sparrow’s Fart to Parmi (controversial for Victorians), and even responds appropriately to “Alexa, play a banger” 
  • In fact, the Aussie male Alexa accent is one of the most popular globally!
• Alexa’s most popular hidden gem is “Alexa, do something silly” – a collection of self-pranks, “silly news” and impressions 
• Alexa’s beatboxing is a wonder to behold, and a very popular party trick - just say “Alexa, beatbox” 
• Aussies have executed 279 million routines on Alexa in the last 12 months, a number which has grown over 40% YoY 

Additional media contacts

For more information, case studies or imagery please contact amazondevices@decpr.com.au

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.