Amazon has delivered on its promise to launch an upgraded Alexa experience, Alexa+, by the end of March. But the service reportedly lacks many of the features Amazon demoed at a press event in late February.
Alexa+ can’t yet perform certain “agentic” AI tasks showcased in the company’s marketing, like ordering takeout on Grubhub or generating stories to entertain kids, according to The Washington Post. The assistant also can’t visually identify people and remind them to do particular chores, or brainstorm gift ideas — two additional capabilities shown during the presser.
Other features are rolling out to only a subset of users to start, like the ability to order an Uber and get cooking recommendations. Meanwhile, a web app Amazon announced for Alexa+ last month doesn’t have a concrete release window.
Alexa+ is said to have been plagued with issues from the beginning, owing to challenges with the AI infrastructure that underpins it. Judging by the Post’s reporting, it seems that Amazon isn’t out of the woods yet.
