Since 2023, Amazon has been framing Alexa+ as a monumental evolution of Amazon’s voice assistant that will make it more conversational, capable, and, for Amazon, lucrative. Amazon said in a press release on Thursday that it has given early access of the generative AI voice assistant to “millions” of people. The product isn’t publicly available yet, and some advertised features are still unavailable, but Amazon’s CEO is already considering loading the chatbot up with ads.
During an investors call yesterday, as reported by TechCrunch, Andy Jassy noted that Alexa+ started rolling out as early access to some customers in the US and that a broader rollout, including internationally, should happen later this year. An analyst on the call asked Amazon executives about Alexa+'s potential for “increasing engagement” long term.
Per a transcript of the call, Jassy responded by saying, in part:
I think over time, there will be opportunities, you know, as people are engaging in more multi-turn conversations to have advertising play a role to help people find discovery and also as a lever to drive revenue.
Like other voice assistants, Alexa has yet to monetize users. Amazon is hoping to finally make money off the service through Alexa+, which is eventually slated to play a bigger role in e-commerce, including by booking restaurant reservations, keeping track of and ordering groceries, and recommending streaming content based on stated interests. But with Alexa reportedly costing Amazon $25 billion across four years, Amazon is eyeing additional routes to profitability.
Echo Show devices already show ads, and Echo speaker users may hear ads when listening to music. Advertisers have shown interest in advertising with Alexa+, but the inclusion of ads in a new offering like Alexa+ could drive people away.
As Joel Daly, co-founder of marketing agency Artemis Ward, told Digiday in March:
They [Amazon] recognize the risk of alienating audiences who have yet to see the full potential of voice assistants, which have yet to be fully realized, not to mention privacy concerns. The combination of tailored advertising with the perceived invasiveness of always-listening voice devices can discourage adoption.
Even though Jassy framed Alexa+ ads as a way to help users find stuff they're interested in, ads seem more aimed at solving Amazon's financial problems with voice assistants than helping customers find relevant information quickly and reliably. Notably, though, Amazon isn't the only chatbot maker exploring ads: Google's AI Overview, for example, already has ads, and Google has been testing ads in AI Mode. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman hasn't ruled out ads in ChatGPT.
But Alexa+ is still in the early stages, meaning that Amazon's bigger priorities are catching up with the competition, rolling out more of Alexa+'s promised features, and making the chatbot publicly available.
Beyond ads, Jassy is mulling additional ways to prevent Alexa+ from being the financial failure of its predecessor. The service is still only available as early access to Echo Show 8, 15, and 21 owners in the US, but once it reaches public availability, it will be free for Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime starts at $15 per month) or $20/month if you don’t have Prime. During yesterday’s earnings call, Jassy pointed to the potential for charging extra for Alexa+ features as they are made available.
"It’s still very early days, but we’re very encouraged by the experience we’re providing, and you can bet we’re gonna be iterating on it constantly,” he said.
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