You might need to pay for Amazon Alexa

Amazon is working on Alexa Plus

Amazon’s upgraded home assistant: Alexa Plus, features enhanced artificial intelligence capabilities. However, rumors are circulating that the new version of the popular virtual assistant could come with a paid subscription, raising questions about whether users would actually pay for it.

One of the key features of Alexa Plus is its use of a new and improved Large Language Model (LLM) designed to make it more conversational or customizable. While this upgrade promises a more seamless interaction with the virtual assistant at first, reports say that Alexa Plus is causing problems within Amazon itself.

Confusion, hallucination, old tech, and subscription are causing the problems

One issue is that the device struggles to handle multiple requests at the same time. Some testers also reported encountering “AI Hallucinations” where Alexa Plus allegedly provided inaccurate or made up responses.

Internally, Alexa Plus is facing challenges that could delay its launch. Employees involved in the development process are expressing concerns about the new model with some wanting parts of the older version's technology to be used in the new Alexa Plus.

Concerns have also been raised on the introduction of a paid subscription model. Some employees believe that users accustomed to the free services offered by the previous version might not embrace a subscription-based model.