Amazon's Alexa with increased 'rizz' will now define Gen Z slangs for older people

Amazon's virtual voice assistant Alexa was officially transformed into a Gen-Z 'cool kid'. Alexa, with its increased rizz (Gen-Z term for charisma), will now help the older folks who have trouble speaking the language of today's younger generation. 

The AI assistant recently received a vocabulary update allowing customers to ask, "Alexa, talk Gen Z to me" to reveal one of 20 phrases that include the most popular Gen Z words.

The phrases were added after research carried out by Amazon in the United Kingdom which revealed the communication breakdown between old and young.  

“Alexa is ready to help with answers to everything, including keeping up to date with the very latest lingo,” Meryem Tom, Amazon Alexa’s UK country manager told The Mirror. 

“Our research shows that there’s plenty of Brits out there who can’t quite keep up with Gen Z’s jargon and we hope that Alexa’s new feature will be a reliable source of knowledge for those who want to brush up on their Gen Z vocabulary.” 

Also watch | Why you shouldn't put Alexa in your bedroom

What did the research reveal?

Amazon’s research revealed that 35 per cent of the Gen-Z population cringed when an older person misused their slang in daily communication. 

It also revealed that social media was the primary source of new slang with nearly 65 per cent of Gen Z’ers admitting that TikTok prompted their use of new terms and phrases.

Also read | If virtual assistants Alexa or Siri sound like you, then you'll love them more: Study

Some of the popular slang added to Alexa's vocabulary: 

• Rizz - short for charisma
• Tea - gossip
• Sus - short for suspicious
• Cap - to lie
• Fam - short for family, used interchangeably with bro, dude
• Drip - style
• Lit - exciting, fun
• Slay - killing at something 
   

Gen Z slang has become an important part of daily vocabulary among the masses. Earlier this year, Dictionary.com announced it was adding several Gen-Z slang words and terms to keep up with the modern times. 

“It’s 2024, and the pace of language change is as rapid as it has ever been. Our lexicographers are updating the dictionary more frequently than ever, doing the human-scale work of documenting words across the vast spectrum of the always-evolving English language," the word-defining platform stated. 

As many as 327 new words were entered into the dictionary with phrases such as 'Mid', 'Bussin' and 'Girl Math' gaining popularity. 

(With inputs from agencies)