Alexa+ AI: Amazon's Dystopian Nightmare of Constant Ads
In an era defined by the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence, a pervasive transformation is underway, reshaping everything from fitness applications to creative software and search engines. Amidst this sweeping digital evolution, it comes as little surprise that Amazon has integrated AI into its long-standing virtual assistant, Alexa. Now eleven years old, the omnipresent living room device is receiving a significant overhaul through “Alexa+,” a new iteration that blends Alexa’s established data collection practices with the generative capabilities of modern AI.
The implications of this upgrade were recently a central topic on the New York Times’ “Hard Fork” podcast, where tech journalists Kevin Roose and Casey Newton detailed their experiences with the revamped Alexa platform. While Amazon initiated the Alexa+ rollout in May, its adoption has been notably gradual, reaching the one-million-user mark only by late June. Both Roose and Newton, long-time users of Amazon’s Echo devices, which have a history of invasive advertising and privacy concerns, offered critical insights.
Newton, who accessed Alexa+ instantly via the new Echo Show 5 device, described his experience as largely negative. He characterized the Echo Show as a device designed to perpetually prompt users into spending money with Amazon. Initially, the device would display chosen artwork on its idle screen for brief periods, but this was consistently interrupted by aggressive advertisements. “For about four seconds per minute, it would show me some Renaissance masterpiece or something,” Newton recounted, “And then it would be like, hey, do you want aspirin? Do you want paper towels? You can actually buy paper towels right now. Just say, hey, Alexa, buy paper towels.” This relentless commercial barrage ultimately led Newton to unplug the device, questioning the value of a permanent rotating advertisement for household goods on his desk.
While the journalists did observe some improvements, such as a more natural voice synthesis for Alexa and smoother interactions with third-party apps like OpenTable and Uber, they noted a concerning regression in previously reliable functions. Basic tasks like web browsing, setting alarms, and summarizing news reports appeared to be compromised by the update. Moreover, when users sought suggestions on how to utilize their new Alexa+, the pre-baked prompts invariably led to further advertisements. Newton described an instance where asking about “Gen Z music trends” didn’t yield information or music, but rather directed him to podcasts available on Amazon Music, reinforcing the perception that every interaction was a sales opportunity.
Amazon has been notably reticent about the specific AI models powering Alexa+, though podcast hosts speculate it involves a combination of Amazon’s proprietary AI and Claude. Regardless of the underlying technology, it appears the core features of the platform are not yet polished for widespread use. This lack of refinement, coupled with the platform’s aggressive advertising, suggests that Amazon’s decision to launch the unpolished platform might be driven more by a desire for immediate revenue than by a commitment to improving user experience—a strategy not uncommon among major tech companies.
This new, commerce-centric approach for Alexa+ also coincides with a significant rollback in privacy policies. Reports from March indicated that Alexa+ would no longer adhere to the previous “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” setting, effectively allowing Amazon to store users’ voice data on its servers indefinitely. Consumers are now faced with the decision of whether the convenience of Alexa+'s newfound commercial capabilities is worth this considerable privacy trade-off. For Casey Newton, at least, the Echo family of devices, which he views as mere conduits for sending money to amazon.com, are simply not for him.