(Credit: Eric Lee for the Washington Post/Getty Images)
Amazon first teased a paid version of Alexa last fall, and Reuters now reports that the company is considering a two-tiered plan for a generative AI version of the digital assistant.
A paid Alexa could run between $5 and $10 per month, Reuters says, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter, though that could change. Amazon wants all the issues to be worked out by August, likely so it can be revealed at Amazon's annual devices event in the fall. The September 2023 event offered a glimpse of a supercharged Alexa that has not been released.
At the time, outgoing Amazon executive David Limp said Amazon was "absolutely" considering a subscription model for Alexa, but said the company would do so thoughtfully. "Before we would start charging customers for this — and I believe we will — it has to be remarkable. It has to prove the utility that you're coming to expect from the 'superhuman' assistant. During the same interview, Limp discussed the potential for generative AI to be added to the assistant.
Since then, Amazon's biggest competitors have invested heavily in generative AI, from Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot to OpenAI's ChatGPT and Apple Intelligence. Some Amazon employees who spoke to Reuters characterized the Alexa effort as a "desperate attempt" to keep up with its rivals.
If Amazon launches the service, rumored to be called “Remarkable Alexa,” it will represent the first major change to Alexa since its initial launch in 2014. In recent years, Alexa has limped along; in April, Amazon shut down its Alexa Developer Rewards Program, which paid people to develop Skills for Alexa.