In the initial test with a review unit from Beewe found the device easy to use. It’s just a button press to turn the recording on or off. In the app, you can configure whether a double press bookmarks part of a conversation, processes the current conversation, or both, and you can set whether a continuous press gesture allows you to leave a voice note or chat with an AI assistant. (Bee’s companion app now reminds you to turn on voice memos, so I did.)
Like other AI products and services, for example Praise, Granola, Fathom, Fireflies, Otterand more, Bee can listen, record, and translate audio conversations. Where it differs is that instead of providing a summary or raw transcript, the audio segments are divided into sections and summarize each section. For example, an interview can be divided into sections like an introduction, great product details, an overview of industry trends, and anything else you’ve used.
Each section is painted with a different background color for easier differentiation as you scroll. You can tap into individual sections to see the exact transcription.
It’s not immediately clear how to label speakers in the app – we learned that we can tap a part of the conversation to confirm that we’re the speaker, but this falls short of other professional AI transcribers, where each speaker can be labeled. Additionally, Bee discards audio after transcription, making it a non-starter for use cases where you need to replay the audio to ensure accuracy.
That said, the Bee doesn’t have to be a work tool. Amazon sees this as an AI that can live alongside you as you go about your day. By integrating with Google services, Bee can link recorded conversations to tasks. For example, after meeting someone at a conference, they can suggest you friend them on LinkedIn or research a product.
You can also leave yourself a voice note, as an alternative to writing something down in a note app, for example.
Another section in the Bee app allows you to look back on memories of the past day, while the “Grow” section will give you more insight into yourself. You can also confirm and add to the “facts” section about yourself, which is similar to the ability of other AI chatbots to remember things you discussed.
Amazon says it will ship more features to the Bee next year.
Bee not always listen by default, which is why competitors wearables like the Friend AI pendant saw a backlash. However, you should ask if you can record other people’s conversations (except at public events, where recording is expected).
When you record, a green light turns on, alerting others that the device is in use.
Bee’s sports band is a bit thin. The band fell off twice when wearing it, twice when just sitting and not moving your hands (like in a taxi). We haven’t tried the clip-on pin yet, but it feels a lot stronger.
Overall, the mobile app design is far ahead of Amazon’s built-in-house apps, like the Alexa mobile experience, and it’s easy to use. But the premise that we need special AIs to record our conversations to learn more about us is still untested. Is there a world where these devices are suitable for consumers who are not recording in professional settings, such as meetings and interviews?
In addition, if AI listening devices become mainstream, there will also need to be some cultural shift in what is appropriate and what is not. Today, it is somewhat looked down upon to record videos of everyday people going about their lives, although it is technically legal when they are in public; Also, it might be considered tacky or gauche to record audio with an AI device if you don’t ask for permission first.
Not everyone will abide by that social contract, of course, which could see people censoring speech in public.
At CES, for example, we talked to representatives at the Soundcore booth. When they liked what I had to say about a competitor’s product, they joked, ‘Speak louder into my microphone,’ pointing to the pre-recorded AI device subtly pinned to their shirt. It’s a strange experience to realize that everything said in the real world can one day be “on record,” whether you agree or not.
The bee’s appeal — or lack thereof — will help Amazon determine if it’s a world consumers want.