Alexa+ rollout hits major milestone, but Amazon warns the technology is currently still primitive

Date:
Fri, 02 May 2025 10:32:58 +0000

Description:
Amazons Alexa+ AI has now rolled out to 100,000 people, but is still facing some technological hurdles.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Amazons Alexa+ AI has just hit 100,000 users in the US Yet the firms CEO has warned agentic technology is still primitive Alexa+ is rolling out in waves, but is still missing some key features

Like many other Big Tech firms, Amazon jumped on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon by launching its own AI assistant named Alexa+ in February. Now, the company has announced that the tool has been rolled out to 100,000 users.

Right now, Alexa+ focuses on providing a conversational experience with an AI chatbot , although Amazon aims to imbue it with agentic abilities in the future. That would enable it to work as an agent on your behalf, interacting with third-party apps in order to carry out the tasks you ask of it.

That little tidbit came from Amazon CEO Andy Jassy during the companys recent earnings call . There, Jassy explained that Our intention is for agents to perform wide-ranging complex, multi-step tasks, and that there haven't been action-oriented agents like this until Alexa+.

Yet the most recent update to Alexa+ is missing some of the key features that Amazon demonstrated in February, as pointed out by The Washington Post . It wouldnt be the first AI to arrive without promised abilities Apples AI-powered Siri has faced numerous delays and disruptions and it shows how difficult it can be to pull ahead in the ongoing AI arms race.

Even Jassy admitted that Alexa+ was facing challenges. In general, agentic AI tools are still primitive, the Amazon CEO noted, with Amazons own Nova Act AI model aiming to improve their accuracy from a mere 30% to 60%. Eventually,
the goal is to achieve over 90% accuracy, but clearly Alexa+ isnt there yet. Limited availability (Image credit: Amazon)

Amazon has previously stated that it aims to launch Alexa+ in waves, so we should expect to see availability increase in the US over the coming months. There's no news about an international rollout yet.

Of those users who have tried it out so far, few have shared their thoughts
or given insights into how well it works. That changed recently, though, when user Pretty2be took to Reddit to answer questions on the AI chatbot.

During the session, Pretty2be stated that Alexa+ is good at interpreting natural speech and is able to avoid interrupting you. Other positive feedback included its speech synthesis capabilities, although the user criticized its tendency to push you towards Amazon Music , even when you try to use Spotify
.

We dont know when Alexa+ will roll out to more users, but its clear that theres still work to be done, judging by both Pretty2bes feedback and Amazon CEO Jassys comments. Hopefully the missing features will arrive before the next 100,000 users sign up. You might also like Alexa+ explained: 9 things
you need to know about Amazon's new AI-powered assistant Alexa+ early adopter gives their thoughts: "Old Alexa was hot garbage but this new one was a pleasant surprise" I wasnt a fan of the new Echo Show 15 and 21, but Alexa+ has changed my mind



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/artificial-intelligence/alexa-rollout-hits -major-milestone-but-amazon-warns-the-technology-is-currently-still-primitive


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