Amazon has finally started rolling out Alexa+, its oft-delayed overhaul of the Alexa voice assistant built on large language model technology. However, Alexa+ shows how difficult it is to replace a mature voice assistant with generative AI, especially when users expect instant, consistent results for simple tasks. It’s a real reality check on the notion that Amazon has managed to release something Apple promised and hasn’t shipped.
Alexa+, available as an limited preview on select Echo devices, was meant to blend the conversational abilities of generative AI with Alexa’s legacy skills like setting timers, playing music, and controlling smart home devices.
The result, according to a detailed review from The New York Times, is more fluid conversations and some impressive new capabilities. However, the change creates serious reliability issues, missing features, and even basic commands failing.
New York Times technology columnist Kevin Roose summarized the state of Alexa+ as not yet recommendable:
The bad news is that despite its new capabilities, Alexa+ is too buggy and unreliable for me to recommend. In my testing, it not only lagged behind ChatGPT’s voice mode and other A.I. voice assistants I’ve tried, but was noticeably worse than the original Alexa at some basic tasks.
In testing, Alexa+ ignored alarm cancellation requests, hallucinated shopping recommendations, and delivered incorrect information.
Amazon executives admit the product still has “edges to sand” as the hybrid deterministic/LLM approach struggles to match the dependability of the old Alexa.
Apple has faced a similar technical challenge in its own next-generation Siri project. The company once aimed to merge Siri’s existing deterministic systems with a new generative AI layer but reportedly had to scrap the initial attempt and start over.
Unlike Amazon, Apple hasn’t shipped the incomplete hybrid model to the public. Instead, the company is reportedly targeting spring 2026 for its more personal Siri update.
Apple’s decision to delay shipping may be frustrating for those of us eager for a more AI-powered Siri, but Amazon’s rocky launch is a reminder of the risks of rushing a replacement before it’s actually ready.
The good news, maybe, is that Apple seems to believe it can deliver even more than it originally promised when the new Siri system is ready.
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