Amazon Web Services is working on a new cloud service focused on a branch of artificial intelligence called deep learning, said a person with knowledge of the Amazon unit’s plans. The service aims to be an alternative to Google’s wildly popular open source deep learning tools, called TensorFlow, and thereby shore up a rare weak spot in the armor of AWS.

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that helps train computers to recognize speech, images and objects. It already has improved the quality and accuracy of services such as online ad targeting and fingerprint sensors on smartphones. And it has emerged as the next battleground in the cloud computing market. Amazon, Microsoft and Google are all trying to sell access to deep learning technology to cloud customers who could use it to improve their own businesses.