Latest news with #AmazonAI
The Verge
18-05-2025
- The Verge
Amazon claims it's ‘constantly inviting' new customers to Alexa Plus
Yesterday, Reuters ran a story with the headline 'Weeks after Amazon's Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?,' in which it detailed its difficulty locating first-hand accounts of the AI-upgraded assistants' use online. The Verge asked Amazon about the story, and the company has responded to say that the idea that Alexa Plus isn't available is 'simply wrong.' Here's the company's full — and rather strongly-worded! — statement on the matter, provided by Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum via email to The Verge: It's simply wrong to say that Alexa+ isn't available to customers—that assertion is false. Hundreds of thousands of customers have access to Alexa+ and we're constantly inviting more customers that have requested Early Access. Sveum also shared the below screenshot of what the email invite should look like. Alexa Plus is Amazon's generative AI-updated version of Alexa, which it announced in February is free to Amazon Prime subscribers or $19.99 a month otherwise. While Reuters doesn't say Alexa Plus isn't available to customers yet, it does quote an analyst who said, 'There seems to be no one who actually has it.' The outlet also reported that its efforts to find any real-world Alexa Plus users came up empty, writing that it had 'searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta's Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon's Twitch and reviews of Echo voice-assistant devices on It added that it spoke with two people who'd posted on Reddit claiming to have used Alexa Plus, but that they 'did not provide Reuters with hard evidence and their identities could not be corroborated.' Still, Engadget reported today that a wave of emails had gone out on Friday, inviting Amazon Alexa users to try out Alexa Plus. The outlet also reported that an Amazon spokesperson had told it 'hundreds of thousands' of customers have tried the assistant. Amazon started rolling out its early access program to a few customers at the end of March. At the time, it was missing features like the ability to order takeout from Grubhub using conversational context, or identify family members and remind them about chores. A page on Amazon's website notes that some features are still 'coming soon,' like being able to access Alexa Plus in a web browser or on a Fire TV or Amazon tablet. The company has said it's prioritizing those who own certain Echo Show devices above others.
The Verge
17-05-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Amazon claims its ‘constantly inviting' new customers to Alexa Plus
Yesterday, Reuters ran a story with the headline 'Weeks after Amazon's Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?,' in which it detailed its difficulty locating first-hand accounts of the AI-upgraded assistants' use online. The Verge asked Amazon about the story, and the company has responded to say that the idea that Alexa Plus isn't available is 'simply wrong.' Here's the company's full — and rather strongly-worded! — statement on the matter, provided by Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum via email to The Verge: It's simply wrong to say that Alexa+ isn't available to customers—that assertion is false. Hundreds of thousands of customers have access to Alexa+ and we're constantly inviting more customers that have requested Early Access. Sveum also shared the below screenshot of what it says the invite email looks like. Alexa Plus is Amazon's generative AI-updated version of Alexa, which it announced in February is free to Amazon Prime subscribers or $19.99 a month otherwise. While Reuters doesn't say Alexa Plus isn't available to customers yet, it does quote an analyst who said, 'There seems to be no one who actually has it.' The outlet also reported that its efforts to find any real-world Alexa Plus users came up empty, writing that it had 'searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta's Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon's Twitch and reviews of Echo voice-assistant devices on It added that it spoke with two people who'd posted on Reddit claiming to have used Alexa Plus, but that they 'did not provide Reuters with hard evidence and their identities could not be corroborated.' Still, Engadget reported today that a wave of emails had gone out on Friday, inviting Amazon Alexa users to try out Alexa Plus. The outlet also reported that an Amazon spokesperson had told it 'hundreds of thousands' of customers have tried the assistant. Amazon started rolling out its early access program to a few customers at the end of March. At the time, it was missing features like the ability to order takeout from Grubhub using conversational context, or identify family members and remind them about chores. A page on Amazon's website notes that some features are still 'coming soon,' like being able to access Alexa Plus in a web browser or on a Fire TV or Amazon tablet. The company has said it's prioritizing those who own certain Echo Show devices above others.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Yahoo
Amazon Alexa is getting a refresh on February 26
Amazon has announced an event on February 26, where a new, more intelligent version of the Alexa assistant is expected to be launched. The event was teased with a quintet of images that, when joined together, have a background that spells out 'Alexa'. An AI-enhanced Alexa digital assistant that is able to respond more like a chatbot has been in the works for some time. It was expected to be announced last autumn, but had faced technical hurdles than threaten to make this new version of Alexa less useful – and more annoying – than the one we have today. According to Amazon AI head Rohit Prasad, the work-in-progress version of the assistant is susceptible to hallucinations, as he said in an interview with the FT. Hallucinations refer to the habit of LLMs, the tech that powers AI chatbots, to make stuff up. Mr Prasad told the FT that hallucinations need to be 'close to zero' before the software launches to the public. A version of the LLM-based Alexa has been available to some users as a beta for some time, unlocked using the 'let's chat' command. Whether you really want a chatty Alexa if you use it primarily to turn your smart lights on and off is up for debate. And it may come with a sting. Last year, The Washington Post reported Amazon was preparing to introduce a subscription fee for Alexa, pay-walling some AI features. And that could include this supposedly smarter take on Alexa. Amazon has sold well over 500 million Alexa devices, which include Echo speakers – it hit that milestone in 2023. The February 26 event may also be used to refresh the company's Echo line-up. While a smarter Alexa would likely not necessitate new hardware, some of the key models in the family are now quite aged. The Echo Dot had its last design update in 2022, while the larger standard Echo speaker hasn't changed since 2020. Since then, Amazon has introduced the low-cost Echo Pop in 2023, and the bedside-ready Echo Spot in 2024.
