AMAZON is planning to charge for an AI-equipped version of its flagship voice assistant, and users are furious.
The online retailer and tech giant has been teasing a new Alexa with generative AI integration for nearly a year.
Now insiders say the company is planning to release it on a paid subscription basis for up to $10 a month.
The voice assistant will come fitted with AI features allowing it to create routines and complete several tasks in one prompt.
Insiders suggest the release could occur as soon as this summer, but the date is subject to change.
Amazon has been rolling out an improved version of Alexa on Fire TV to help users browse for movies and shows.
The voice assistant is also a star feature in the reimagined Amazon Echo Spot, a smart alarm clock.
The AI-upgraded Alexa, nicknamed “Alexa Plus” and “Remarkable Alexa,” has been tested by 15,000 customers so far.
While the assistant can mimic human speech patterns fairly well, it has drawbacks – notably, providing long or inaccurate responses.
Swirling rumors suggest the Alexa unit has fallen out of favor at the company, which generates most of its revenue through e-commerce.
Alexa was set to lose Amazon around $10 billion in 2022, making the division a target for layoffs.
Things came to a head in November when Amazon slashed several hundred jobs.
In an internal memo reviewed by The U.S. Sun, Alexa and Fire TV’s vice president Daniel Rausch said the company was shifting its efforts to align with new business priorities.
These include “maximizing our resources and efforts focused on generative AI.”
While layoffs have cut costs, they’re also a stumbling block for innovation.
The unit has been left with a smaller team to carry out more work just months ahead of the tool’s anticipated release.
The subscription model could be a lifeline – but customers don’t seem ready to buy in.
Users took to Reddit to react to the news.
“The last thing I would ever do is pay for Alexa to talk to me more,” one user professed.
“The idea of a chatty ChatGPT inanely babbling on and on when I just want to know ’81 and sunny’ is a total non-starter.”
The user said he would be “much more likely to consider a nominal fee” if the retailer reintroduced “much of the functionality they’ve removed from the platform over the past few years.”
Another user outright refused to shell out more money for the service.
“I will be VERY pissed if paid Alexa is the only option for the new Echo Spot I just got, because I’m not paying for a subscription,” he wrote.
The user suggested Amazon implement a “minimal base service for Prime members” including alarms, weather reports, and control of lights in the home.
“If it got rid of the ads and added some features I’d be willing to pay a nominal fee,” another user chimed in.
“Not if they go ridiculous and want $20 a month though. I’m too invested with Alexa devices at the moment to jump to Google.”
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Amazon for comment.
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