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Amazon’s rollout of Alexa+, the AI-focused upgrade to its popular virtual assistant, may have some users asking, “Alexa, where are the new features?”
For example, Alexa+ can’t yet order takeout on Grubhub or identify family members from its camera to remind them to do certain chores, or order groceries — capabilities that were shown during a recent Amazon press event. Other features, such as brainstorming gift ideas or generating stories for kids, also won’t be released until later, according to internal company documents first seen by The Washington Post.
The company said the delays are because the features do not yet “meet Amazon’s standards for public release,” the Post reported.
What Alexa+ is expected to offer — and when
Features like the ability to order an Uber and get cooking recommendations are available to a subset of users in what Amazon is calling the “early access period” of Alexa+, during which “features will be released on a rolling basis.” Amazon customers who own an Echo Show 8, 10, 15, or 21 will be the first to receive early access to Alexa+, the company said.
Certain Alexa device owners will be able to order an Uber or get cooking advice if they own newer models of the Echo Show, beginning on Monday, according to the Post.
Although Amazon said Alexa+ will be available for chatting on the web at Alexa.com, the Post said the feature, known internally as “Metis,” will not launch on Monday as planned. Further, customers may experience issues with one of Alexa+’s new capabilities — the ability to read and summarize uploaded documents — according to the documents the paper said it viewed. If users try to delete one of the uploaded documents such as an instruction manual, legal contracts, or emails, they will get an error message saying it is not possible yet.
Alexa+ users can ask Amazon for help removing the documents, but staff must let them know the process won’t delete all of that data, the paper said.
Alexa+ is included with an Amazon Prime subscription and to non-members at $20 per month.
Growing pains in the age of GenAI
Alexa isn’t the only legacy virtual assistant being launched cautiously as it is revamped to compete with other AI chatbots including ChatGPT, Claude, DeepSeek, Copilot, and Gemini. Apple also postponed an AI update to its Siri assistant last month. An Apple executive reportedly called the delays “ugly and embarrassing,” according to Bloomberg, and it has even resulted in a lawsuit about Siri’s missing AI features.