If you’ve been wondering about Amazon’s much-anticipated upgrade to its Alexa voice assistant, you’re not alone.
The revamped Alexa is still in development, with Amazon having halted access to its beta phase, including the new “Let’s Chat” feature. Originally slated for a late 2024 release, the launch is now postponed to next year.
The delay appears tied to challenges with Alexa’s large language models (LLMs).
While the new Alexa aims to handle more complex questions from users, it’s reportedly struggling with basic tasks that the older version managed easily, like setting timers or controlling smart lights, as noted in a follow-up report from The Verge.
Amazon initially planned to introduce its upgraded Alexa AI in October, but the timeline has since shifted.
Instead of revealing Alexa’s new features on October 17 as planned, Amazon used the date to highlight its latest line of Kindle e-readers.
Back in August, reports emerged that the upgraded Alexa would use Anthropic’s Claude AI and include a monthly subscription option.
The push for an AI-powered Alexa reportedly began as ChatGPT gained popularity in mid-2023.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wanted to see if Alexa could compete in the AI-driven market, testing it with sports questions “like an ESPN reporter at a playoff press conference.” But Alexa’s responses fell short, even inventing a recent game score.
Despite these initial hiccups, Alexa was deemed “good enough” by Jassy and Amazon’s executive team, who believed engineers could have a beta version ready by early 2024. However, Amazon missed this goal.
Even with the extended deadline, the upgraded Alexa has a challenging road ahead.
Some Amazon employees told that Alexa’s issues go beyond technology, pointing to overly complex management and a lack of “a compelling vision for an AI-powered Alexa.”
