Amazon’s Alexa+ Hits 100K Users, Still Lacks Promised Features

Amazon’s upgraded digital assistant, Alexa+, is now in use by over 100,000 users, CEO Andy Jassy revealed during the company’s latest earnings call. Although that figure is small compared to the 600 million Alexa-enabled devices in circulation, it marks early progress in the rollout of the AI-powered assistant announced earlier this year. Alexa+ is designed to support more natural conversations and eventually gain the ability to perform tasks across third-party apps, resembling advanced capabilities seen in tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini. Despite the hype around its February reveal, Alexa+ currently lacks many of the interactive features Amazon had promised. The version available today cannot yet perform actions like ordering from apps such as GrubHub, creating personalized bedtime stories, or offering gift suggestions—functions that were showcased at launch. Jassy acknowledged the gap and confirmed that Amazon plans to roll out more features in the coming months. Positioned as one of the first consumer-facing AI agents capable of taking meaningful actions, Alexa+ is powered by Amazon’s web-browsing agent, Nova Act. However, Jassy admitted the technology is still “primitive” and “inaccurate,” noting that multi-step AI agents currently achieve accuracy rates between just 30% and 60%. Amazon has set a goal to improve that to 90% as it works to refine Alexa+. Jassy also used the call to contrast Amazon’s pace with Apple’s, pointing out that Siri’s upgrade—based on large language models—has been delayed, with CEO Tim Cook stating Apple needs more time to complete development. Both companies appear to be grappling with the same core issue: getting generative AI models to effectively use tools and integrate across digital systems. These challenges are slowing down the transformation of traditional voice assistants into more capable and context-aware agents. While Alexa+ remains a work in progress, Amazon’s early rollout and stated goals signal its commitment to staying ahead in the race to reinvent AI-driven consumer interfaces.