Introducing Q from Amazon, the New Workplace Chatbot to Transform Productivity

Amazon unveiled a new workplace chatbot, named Q, during its announcement at the Amazon Web Services' Reinvent conference in Las Vegas on Tuesday (28/11).

This move marks Amazon's latest initiative to compete with Microsoft and Google in the realm of productivity software.

The introduction of Q comes a year after the launch of ChatGPT by OpenAI, a startup supported by Microsoft, which gained popularity for its generative artificial intelligence capabilities in generating human-like text based on minimal input.

Named after the iconic characters Q from James Bond movies or Star Trek, depending on the perspective of AWS executives, the chatbot is currently in its preview version, offering some features for free.

Post-preview, a business tier will be available at $20 per person per month, while a version tailored for developers and IT professionals will be priced at $25 per person per month.

This places Q in direct competition with Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Duet AI for Google Workspace, both priced at $30 per person per month.

Initially, Q is designed to assist users in understanding AWS capabilities and resolving issues.

It integrates with communication apps like Salesforce's Slack and text-editing applications for software developers.

Additionally, Q will be accessible through AWS' online Management Console and can provide document citations to support its chat responses.

Notably, the tool boasts the ability to automatically modify source code, reducing developers' workload.

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky highlighted that Q can connect with over 40 enterprise systems, enabling discussions on information stored in platforms such as Microsoft 365, Dropbox, Salesforce, Zendesk, and AWS' S3 data-storage service.

Users can also upload documents and engage with Q for queries.

AWS Vice President Deepak Singh mentioned that administrators will have control over Q's ability to address general topics, providing flexibility in tailoring the chatbot's responses to specific needs.

Industry experts, including Steven Dickens from the Futurum Group, anticipate widespread adoption of Q among developers and cloud administrators due to its potential to streamline navigation in AWS' diverse service offerings.

While Amazon has introduced various end-user applications over the years, none have achieved widespread success, and much of AWS's revenue is derived from core computing and storage services.

Jordan Novet / CNBC