After announcing that its generative AI assistant, Alexa+, would arrive by the end of March, Amazon has finally delivered and taken the wraps off its AI assistant. However, not all features advertised in the marketing materials are ready and available as a part of Alexa+ on day one.
The missing features in the advanced version of Alexa—Alexa+—will take a few months to roll out, according to internal documents seen by The Washington Post. Amazon’s devices chief, Panos Panay, stated that Alexa+ will start rolling out in March and will expand gradually.
Talk about missing features: Alexa+ won't be able to order takeout from Grubhub based on a conversation about cravings. Plus, it won't be able to recognize family members visually and remind them to do chores. Other features, including gift ideas and bedtime stories for kids, are also delayed.
Also, only a subset of users will be getting access to features such as the ability to order an Uber or get cooking recommendations. Meanwhile, the company hasn't announced a launch window for a dedicated Alexa+ app, which was announced last month.
For now, only newer Echo Show models—specifically, the Echo Show 15 and 21—will have access to Alexa+. Those with other Alexa devices like Fire TV or Echo Spot will have to wait. Amazon has also advertised a web-based chat feature at Alexa.com, which is also something that is not arriving today.
However, not all news is bad. One feature that is arriving on time is the ability to read and summarize uploaded documents such as instruction manuals or emails. But again, it is also half-baked as users won't be able to delete uploaded files. Trying to delete uploaded files will throw an error message saying, "deletion of attachments is not yet supported."
Files can be deleted through the help of Amazon's support team, but according to internal emails, staff must inform users that the process won't erase all of the associated data. Staff are advised not to tell users "this will permanently delete the file" or "no one in your home will be able to find the information from the file."
So, as of now, it's a bit of a mixed bag.
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