Amazon is reportedly behind on its work to improve its voice assistant, Alexa, as other tech companies head to develop AI-powered versions of smart assistants.
Fortune reported that sources close to the project believe that Alexa is nowhere near where it aims to be - the world's best personal assistant.
Next-Gen Alexa is Still Not Ready, Sources Says
In 2023, Amazon unveiled a demo for a generative AI-powered version of Alexa. During the event, the new trigger phrase, "Alexa, let's chat," was introduced.
Interviews with former employees who worked on AI for Alexa revealed that the new Alexa is not ready for public rollout. The workers cited structural dysfunction and technological challenges that have led to the delayed shipment of the new product.
Research scientists who worked on the LLM shared that Amazon's data is not enough to compete with other big tech companies like OpenAI. There was also an evident prioritization of Amazon Web Services (AWS) which focuses on the company's cloud computing unit.
Amazon Defends Alexa's Progress
An Amazon spokesperson stated that claims provided by the former employees do not reflect the current status of the Alexa LLM. According to her, most of the sources have left the company in the past six months, hinting that there is progress following their departure.
In addition, she also shared that the company has enough access to GPUs and AI-specific chips to run the LLMs and compete with other tech companies. She also clarified that Amazon has not deprioritized Alexa over AWS.
Regardless, the majority of the employees are firm that Amazon is already behind its big tech rivals. Google, Microsoft, and Meta have been working aggressively to launch AI-powered tools and chatbots. Even Apple has managed to materialize its own AI target.
There is still a possibility that Amazon will soon launch a generative AI-based Alexa. In 2023, the company reported that there are more than 400 million smart home devices that are connected to Alexa.
