Amazon forces automatic upgrade to Alexa+ for Prime members, sparking user backlash

Amazon has started automatically upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus

Over the past couple of weeks, users on the r/alexa subreddit have reported getting automatically upgraded to Alexa Plus as a perk for their Prime memberships. The update doesn't appear to be opt-in, but there's an option to roll it back. Screenshots of a message from Amazon sent to users state that, "After your device updates, you can still revert to the original Alexa by saying, 'Alexa, exit Alexa+.'" Alexa Plus is an LLM-powered overhaul of Alexa that's intended to help Amazon's voice assistant compete with rivals like Google Gemini. Not everyone is eager to use the latest version of Amazon's AI, though, and the rollout of the Gemini update for Google Home has had its own issues, like misidentifying objects and hallucinating camera activity. Some users on Reddit have responded to Amazon's update with a variety of reasons for wanting to stick with the original Alexa, including disliking Alexa's new voice and attitude and experiencing longer wait times for Alexa Plus to respond to queries. Users also report an influx of ads for Alexa Plus, including one user who said that after they turned off the updated Alexa, they got "flooded with ads" until they turned it back on.

Amazon Prime members are being auto-upgraded to Alexa+ whether they want it or not

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. A hot potato: Alexa+ started rolling out to all Prime members in the US a few weeks ago, regardless of whether they want it. The fact that Amazon is pushing the upgrade out automatically isn't sitting well with some users, but there is an easy way of moving back to the original digital assistant. Amazon unveiled Alexa+ almost a year ago. The generative AI-powered version is supposed to bring the assistant into the modern age, offering more natural language interactions, better understanding, and the ability to perform more tasks. Amazon started rolling out an early access program for Alexa+ to hundreds of thousands of select users following the original announcement. But six weeks later, it was difficult to find anyone using it. Now, Reddit users have reported that they are automatically being upgraded to Alexa+ as part of their Prime membership. One person said they received the update despite repeatedly refusing it for weeks. Posts from the alexa community on Reddit Amazon's notification states that "as a Prime member, you get Alexa+ for free, and we will update the devices registered to this account to the new, conversational, and more delightful Alexa experience." It also says that the upgrade takes just a few minutes and requires no action on the user's part. Given the misplaced confidence and tendency to get some things completely wrong, like health advice, some people don't want a generative AI-powered Alexa on their devices. "Despite the fact that I repeatedly told it to not enable Alexa+, I woke up one morning to it being enabled and the voice was different. It's quite unnerving that it did so without my permission," writes one Redditor. Beyond not having the ability to opt-out of the update, there have been complaints about Alexa+'s new voice, differences in behavior, the extra time it takes to answer queries, and its attitude in general. "New Alexa was a salty b***h with a serious attitude problem. I like old Alexa, she may be slow, but far more pleasant," wrote one Redditor. Another user said they were getting rid of Alexa altogether because they were sick of ads for Alexa+. War has been declared. byu/Achmed_Ahmadinejad inalexa The good news for those who don't want Alexa+ is that reverting back to the original version is as simple as saying "Alexa, exit Alexa+." But, much like every case of a company forcing an AI feature onto people, this hasn't placated everyone. If for some reason you're not a Prime subscriber who wants Alexa+, it costs $19.99 per month. Amazon said it is supported on 97% of all devices the company has ever shipped. For the most part, companies tend not to care whether people want their new AI features, especially after plowing millions or billions into these technologies. So, if you're Prime subscriber, be prepared for some changes to Alexa soon enough.

We're definitely beta testing this technology": is Alexa+ really bad, or are our expectations for free services too high?

When Amazon announced Alexa+, the future looked bright for the AI-bolstered smart assistant, poised to offer agentic assistance that could rival even the likes of Google Gemini and ChatGPT. However, while the service boasts a next-gen upgrade that could revolutionize home assistants as we know them, there's a long road ahead before many of the promised features are fully functional (or, indeed, available to users at all). There's a glaringly obvious reason for this; Alexa+ is still in Early Access, meaning all current users are effectively part of one great big beta test, as noted by Reddit users in r/AmazonEcho. However, that beta test seems to have expanded to a bunch of Prime customers via an automatic enrollment in the service, as reported by The Verge, and it's riled up the user base once again. That being said, if your main reasons for opting out are pre-emptive, it's worth giving the service a try yourself, because there are a fair few very happy customers who might convince you otherwise. In light of complaints about reduced functionality and excessive ads, some are calling out specific features that have actually improved when using the service. "I love the change! I can finally get answers to questions," says one user, referencing Alexa's improved conversational abilities and better search functions. "It makes my daily routines smoother, and I enjoy how it integrates with my smart home devices," one commenter adds. Indeed, smart home control seems to be a running theme in those enjoying the service, which offers improved voice control from chained requests to natural language automation setup. Elsewhere, people are finding new ways to use Alexa+ after the upgrade: "I'm having a blast with my Alexa+ in my art studio/ shop. She is my shop assistant and I think she is awesome." said one Reddit user in another thread. Plus, its contextual awareness seems to prove useful in practice for some users: "The other day I was making German pancakes and had a recipe up and I could just ask things like 'How much flour? How many eggs? What ingredients are left?' and it kept up and walked me through the whole recipe." In the wake of some such complaints, other Reddit users are blaming the negativity bias of Reddit's userbase for widespread complaints about the service. Others agreed, acknowledging the room for improvement but with a little more patience than some netizens. "These days, no software is ever perfect at release, and maybe never afterwards either. The advantage of Alexa+ is that it's new, so it has a team of devs working on bugfixes and improvements, and that can only be a good thing," said one user. "Even people with poor experiences of it now should find, if they report issues, that the system gets better - because that's kind of inevitable right now." Along a similar vein, other users are using Alexa+ as a means to familiarize themselves more with AI: "The reason I use Alexa is because AI isn't going away, and I want to understand how it works. Of course, it is imperfect, but it is unrealistic to think new technology is going to be fully developed." That's a worthwhile consideration; Alexa+ is showing no sign of slowing down, with Amazon recently launching Alexa+ on the web and bringing the AI assistant to a wide range of devices, from electric vehicles to home appliances. Still, there are plenty of unhappy customers deciding they don't want the free upgrade, from simple reasons like Alexa+'s grating "Valley Girl" cadence to decreased functionality and an abundance of ads. That's doubly true given the Alexa+ free upgrade for Prime users currently rolling out is automatic, meaning you can't refuse and opt out until the service is already active; thankfully, it's a very easy process to remove yourself from the hive mind. Simply say 'Alexa, exit Alexa+' to remove the service from your Echo devices, and if you change your mind later you can rejoin by saying 'Alexa, enter Alexa+'. It's that easy!

Amazon is pushing Alexa+ upgrades on Prime members - and users aren't happy about it

Early last year, Amazon unveiled Alexa+, a next-gen upgrade designed to take on the likes of ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The rollout of the AI has been pretty slow since then, but now Prime members are being automatically upgraded - and many aren't happy about it. As spotted by The Verge, numerous Reddit threads are relaying the upgrade message that some Prime members are getting. The upgrade "takes just a few minutes and won't require any action from you", according to the note. There's no way to opt out of the upgrade - it happens automatically. However, users can still revert back to the old AI if they want to, by saying "Alexa, exit Alexa+" within range of one of their smart speakers or smart displays. Right from the beginning, Amazon said Alexa+ would be a free perk for Prime users (otherwise costing $19.99 a month - pricing outside the US has yet to be confirmed). This is making good on that promise, but plenty of users aren't best pleased that they're being forced to upgrade. War has been declared. from r/alexa "It's all the non-consent that's bothering me right now," writes one Reddit user, while another says that "I don't want an assistant with attitude". There are plenty of people reporting mixed experiences with Alexa+, and reverting back to the old version of Alexa on their smart devices. In a separate thread, one user tells Amazon to "stop shoving it down my throat", and another complains that Alexa+ can't read out Kindle books aloud like the standard Kindle can. Missing functionality seems to be part of the problem here. Other complaints about Alexa+ include slow response times, too many ads, and the style of the new voices. The upgraded AI - powered by large language models (LLMs) - is intended to be smarter and more versatile than the standard Alexa. Whether users are happy about it or not, Amazon clearly sees Alexa+ as the future. The AI bot recently launched on the web, though we're still waiting for the upgrade to come to users, Prime members or not, outside the US.

Amazon force-upgrades Prime members to Alexa+

Amazon has begun automatically upgrading Prime members to Alexa Plus without an opt-in option, as reported by users on the r/alexa subreddit over the past few weeks. Users receive device notifications stating they can revert by saying, "Alexa, exit Alexa+." Multiple users shared screenshots of the exact message from Amazon on the subreddit. The notification explains, "After your device updates, you can still revert to the original Alexa by saying, 'Alexa, exit Alexa+.'" This process allows Prime members to return to the previous version of the voice assistant after the automatic upgrade occurs during device updates. Alexa Plus represents a large language model-powered overhaul of Amazon's voice assistant. Amazon developed this version specifically to position Alexa against competitors, including Google Gemini. The upgrade integrates advanced AI capabilities into everyday interactions with connected devices. User feedback on Reddit highlights several drawbacks to the new system. Many express dissatisfaction with the altered voice and personality of Alexa Plus. Others report noticeably longer wait times when issuing queries, as responses from the upgraded assistant take more time to generate compared to the original Alexa. Additional complaints involve promotional content. Users describe an influx of advertisements pushing Alexa Plus. One Redditor detailed their experience, stating that after disabling the update, they encountered "flooded with ads" persistently until re-enabling Alexa Plus to stop the promotions. For context, rival updates face similar scrutiny. Google's rollout of the Gemini update for Google Home devices has encountered problems, including instances of misidentifying objects and generating false reports of camera activity, known as hallucinations. Stevie Bonifield authored this report. He covers consumer technology news, having begun his career at Laptop Mag where he wrote on hardware, gaming, and artificial intelligence topics.