Amazon is embarking on a new initiative called Project Metis to develop their own conversational AI chatbot, according to a new report in Business Insider. This move comes as competition in the chatbot market heats up, with leaders like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini assistant already well established.

Code-named Metis (named after the “Titaness of Wisdom” in Greek mythology), the new project aims to build an AI system capable of rivallng industry stalwarts. It will be powered by Amazon’s own Olympus language model, reported to be more advanced than their existing Titan model. Like other competitors, Metis is designed for both text and image-based conversations through a web interface.

To differentiate Metis, Amazon is focusing on a technique called Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG). This allows Metis to retrieve and integrate new information beyond its original training data, ensuring more up-to-date responses. For example, with RAG the chatbot could provide real-time stock prices or comment on recent news stories.

Metis is also intended to function as an AI agent, automating complex tasks like travel planning through natural language. If successful, this could set the system apart from dialogue-only bots like ChatGPT.

Metis’ launch is rumored to launch in September 2024.