Will generative AI fix Amazon Alexa?

Personally, I’m a fan of Alexa. Sure, there are some privacy concerns and annoying quirks — deleted accessories sometimes reappear, for example — but it’s probably the simplest of the major smart home ecosystems, and it generally makes my life easier. I use it to control my lights, and even my workday soundtrack pumps out of an Echo Studio. If I want to check the weather or get a news update, I’m going to talk to one of three Echo speakers in my home.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with current events, though, Alexa is in trouble. The Wall Street Journal says that Amazon’s Alexa/Devices division lost $25 billion — yes, billion — between 2017 and 2021, and the company is still struggling to figure out how it can make Alexa and Echo profitable. One solution is rumored to be “Remarkable” Alexa, a generative AI upgrade that could cost $5 to $10 per month.

Will Remarkable turn Amazon’s fortunes around? I sincerely doubt it — at least not on its own.

A more natural and advanced assistant

The best way to explain it is in comparison with Alexa’s existing incarnation. “Classic” Alexa only supports a single command per voice prompt, and is mostly limited to media/smart home control, general knowledge questions, and things like shopping, calendars, and reminders. It’s possible to extend this functionality by installing “skills,” but you’re mostly operating within the same boundaries.

Whether Remarkable Alexa will come to fruition depends on how Amazon’s development pans out, but the idea is that it could use generative AI to support multiple commands in the same prompt, eliminating the need to use the “Alexa” wake word so often. Exchanges could also feel more personalized and conversational, which would achieve Jeff Bezos’ dream of a Star Trek-like voice assistant.

More importantly, we could get entirely new functions. An example from Reuters sources involves someone composing an email and ordering from Uber Eats — all in the same command. It suggests linking to more outside platforms, whether through skills or otherwise.

Remarkable could also add proactive smart home automation, which goes beyond manually created routines. It might turn on your TV in time for a favorite show, for instance, or switch on your porch lights at night. I just hope there’s some degree of control baked in — no one wants their energy bill going up because of Daily Show reruns. Some smart home users already have problems with their “learning” thermostats making bad assumptions.

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The challenge

Moving the stubborn needle

Google / Pocket-lint

I’m not convinced that many people will be willing to pay for Remarkable Alexa, especially judging from what we know about it so far. Classic Alexa may not be comparable to Google Gemini or ChatGPT, but it does do the things people expect of it — and it’s free. If there’s one thing the history of the internet has taught us, it’s that people are reluctant to pay for something when there’s a free version available. Just ask the creators of mIRC or Winamp.

If Remarkable is going to attract an audience, it’s going to have to match the paid versions of its rivals, at a minimum. Most of us carry a smartphone with us, and there’s not much sense paying for two AI subscriptions just because you want to talk to a speaker or display instead. Indeed, people will probably demand something very comprehensive from Amazon, since the idea of AI that’s only available on speakers or displays is a tough sell.