Yesterday, Reuters ran a narrative with the headline “Weeks after Amazon’s Alexa+ AI launch, a thriller: the place are the customers?,” by which it detailed its issue finding first-hand accounts of the AI-upgraded assistants’ use on-line. The Verge requested Amazon in regards to the story, and the corporate has responded to say that the concept that Alexa Plus isn’t accessible is “merely mistaken.”
Right here’s the corporate’s full — and relatively strongly-worded! — assertion on the matter, supplied by Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum by way of e-mail to The Verge:
It’s merely mistaken to say that Alexa+ isn’t accessible to prospects—that assertion is fake. Lots of of 1000’s of shoppers have entry to Alexa+ and we’re always inviting extra prospects which have requested Early Entry.
Sveum additionally shared the beneath screenshot of what the e-mail invite ought to appear like.
Alexa Plus is Amazon’s generative AI-updated model of Alexa, which it introduced in February is free to Amazon Prime subscribers or $19.99 a month in any other case.
Whereas Reuters doesn’t say Alexa Plus isn’t accessible to prospects but, it does quote an analyst who mentioned, “There appears to be nobody who truly has it.”
The outlet additionally reported that its efforts to search out any real-world Alexa Plus customers got here up empty, writing that it had “searched dozens of reports websites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta’s Instagram and Fb, in addition to Amazon’s Twitch and critiques of Echo voice-assistant units on Amazon.com.” It added that it spoke with two individuals who’d posted on Reddit claiming to have used Alexa Plus, however that they “didn’t present Reuters with exhausting proof and their identities couldn’t be corroborated.”
Nonetheless, Engadget reported right this moment {that a} wave of emails had gone out on Friday, inviting Amazon Alexa customers to check out Alexa Plus. The outlet additionally reported that an Amazon spokesperson had informed it “lots of of 1000’s” of shoppers have tried the assistant.
Amazon began rolling out its early entry program to some prospects on the finish of March. On the time, it was lacking options like the power to order takeout from Grubhub utilizing conversational context, or determine relations and remind them about chores. A web page on Amazon’s web site notes that some options are nonetheless “coming quickly,” like with the ability to entry Alexa Plus in an internet browser or on a Hearth TV or Amazon pill. The corporate has mentioned it’s prioritizing those that personal sure Echo Present units above others.
