Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced on the company’s latest earnings call that Alexa+, the company’s newly revamped generative AI-powered assistant, now has more than 100,000 active users.
The milestone, while significant, remains modest when compared to the more than 600 million Alexa-enabled devices currently in circulation. Amazon first introduced Alexa+ publicly in February, setting expectations that the rollout would happen gradually over several months.
Alexa+ was designed to transform user interaction by supporting more natural and conversational exchanges. Unlike traditional systems—such as the legacy Alexa or Apple’s Siri—that primarily rely on programmed responses, Alexa+ can generate original, adaptive replies spontaneously, similar to other advanced AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Eventually, Amazon plans to allow Alexa+ to interact with third-party apps on behalf of users, significantly broadening its practical applications.
However, recent reports indicate that the current version of Alexa+ does not yet feature many of the advanced capabilities demonstrated at its initial unveiling. Missing functionalities include third-party app integration with services like GrubHub, personalized storytelling for children, and creative functions such as generating gift suggestions. Amazon has yet to provide a clear timeline for when customers can expect these promised features.
“We have a lot more functionality that we plan to add in coming months,” Jassy told investors. The CEO also acknowledged the early-state imperfections of the technology, describing it as “primitive” and noting the challenges in accuracy faced by all current consumer-oriented generative agents. The goal, Jassy stated, is to push the success rate of Amazon’s own web-browsing agent—named Nova Act—to a benchmark accuracy level of 90% in real-world applications. As of now, most generative AI agents operate with accuracy rates ranging roughly from 30% to 60%.
Jassy characterized Alexa+ as among the first examples of practical and action-oriented AI agents aimed explicitly at consumer use. The company is moving rapidly to improve accuracy and broaden capability, positioning itself favorably in comparison to competitor Apple. On the same day, during Apple’s earnings call, CEO Tim Cook acknowledged delays in rolling out their own upgraded AI-powered Siri, stating that more time was required to deliver the expected performance.
Both Apple and Amazon have encountered significant hurdles in upgrading legacy voice assistants, largely due to complexities in integrating generative AI effectively with third-party tools and existing system architectures. Achieving seamless tasks such as setting timers, interacting with messages, or managing apps has proven technically challenging, slowing the pace at which these technologies reach wider audiences.
