Amazon is hard at work on a new brain for its popular Alexa virtual assistant.

The e-commerce giant is designing an artificial intelligence chip that will allow its line of Alexa-enabled Echo devices to more quickly process commands and queries, according to a Monday report by The Information.

This would put Amazon on an even playing field with rivals Google and Apple, which both have their own custom processing chips for their artificially intelligent voice assistants.

Currently, when you ask Alexa a question or give it a command, the information is relayed up to the cloud, where a response is then processed. This process results in a noticeable pause as you wait for Alexa to process your request.

A built-in chip in Echo devices would allow the smart speakers to process simple requests — such as checking the time — in a near-instantaneous manner, though more complex queries would likely still be sent to the cloud.

Amazon has a team of nearly 600 people who are able to work on its AI chip ambitions, following its 2015 acquisition of chip designer Annapurna Labs and security camera maker Blink in late 2017.

If Amazon is able to improve upon its existing line of devices, all signs point toward continued dominance of the smart speaker industry. Over the holiday season, the company reported that its Echo Dot was the “best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category.”

Amazon says that it has sold “tens of millions” of Alexa-enabled devices around the world. And as it continues to churn out new skills and functions for Alexa, it’s not looking like it will slow down anytime soon.