Amazon's Alexa+ Rollout: Promises, Delays, and the Mystery of Missing Users

I'm Still Waiting for Amazon's Big Alexa AI Upgrade: Here's What to Know About the Delay

The enhanced Alexa was supposed to be ready to try in March. Now it's the middle of May and we're still waiting. I wish I could say I was surprised. Here's what's happening and why Echo users should practice their patience. Read more: Amazon Alexa Just Changed Its Privacy Settings. CNET Survey Reveals 73% of Device Users Were Already Worried So, where's the AI? For now, it's still in early access, and that early access period appears to be limited. Even the few who have tried out Alexa Plus have been quiet about it. Those who've spoken up have said the AI is lacking critical features that were mentioned at the announcement, including ordering food on Grubhub with a conversation, entering into a story mode with kids, visually identifying family members during conversations, brainstorming ideas in a casual conversation mode, and using Alexa Plus on the Web. In other words, it's just not ready yet. Read more: The Best Smart Displays for 2025 I've seen this before, very recently, with Apple's announcement that it will be delaying Siri's big AI upgrade, not only for a year after WWDC 2024, but then again in 2025 and possibly for as long as until 2027 according to our latest info. It's possible Amazon watched the fallout from these delay announcements plus leaked employee complaints, and decided to be much quieter about the Alexa Plus rollout. Either way, it could be months before the average consumer sees an option to upgrade to Alexa Plus, and with staggered rollouts, some Amazon customers could be waiting quite some time for the chatty new Alexa. No one at CNET has gotten an early access look at Alexa Plus yet, but the testing period is still ongoing, so we're hopeful to get our hands on it very soon. We're ready with Amazon Echos, Echo Shows, home cameras, smart gadgets and more to test out just what's changed with Alexa Plus and what features have actually arrived (and what we still can't do). But for now, it looks like we're waiting for our own wake word -- and I wouldn't be surprised if Alexa Plus is on a similar trajectory to Siri's AI delays, sans the troubling announcements and exposes we saw with Apple. If you're desperate to see what Amazon is doing with the latest Alexa AI technology, there is a way to get to the front of the line. Amazon has mentioned that during the early access period, it will focus on releasing Alexa Plus for Echo Shows. If you have an Echo Show 8, Show 10, Show 15 or Show 21, you're more likely to see an offer for Alexa Plus if you sign up for the program. (Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET's parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Amazon claims its 'constantly inviting' new customers to Alexa Plus

Wes Davis is a weekend editor who covers the latest in tech and entertainment. He has written news, reviews, and more as a tech journalist since 2020. Yesterday, Reuters ran a story with the headline "Weeks after Amazon's Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?," in which it detailed its difficulty locating first-hand accounts of the AI-upgraded assistants' use online. The Verge asked Amazon about the story, and the company has responded to say that the idea that Alexa Plus isn't available is "simply wrong." Here's the company's full -- and rather strongly-worded! -- statement on the matter, provided by Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum via email to The Verge: It's simply wrong to say that Alexa+ isn't available to customers -- that assertion is false. Hundreds of thousands of customers have access to Alexa+ and we're constantly inviting more customers that have requested Early Access. Sveum also shared the below screenshot of what it says the invite email looks like. Alexa Plus is Amazon's generative AI-updated version of Alexa, which it announced in February is free to Amazon Prime subscribers or $19.99 a month otherwise. While Reuters doesn't say Alexa Plus isn't available to customers yet, it does quote an analyst who said, "There seems to be no one who actually has it." The outlet also reported that its efforts to find any real-world Alexa Plus users came up empty, writing that it had "searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta's Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon's Twitch and reviews of Echo voice-assistant devices on Amazon.com." It added that it spoke with two people who'd posted on Reddit claiming to have used Alexa Plus, but that they "did not provide Reuters with hard evidence and their identities could not be corroborated." Still, Engadget reported today that a wave of emails had gone out on Friday, inviting Amazon Alexa users to try out Alexa Plus. The outlet also reported that an Amazon spokesperson had told it "hundreds of thousands" of customers have tried the assistant. Amazon started rolling out its early access program to a few customers at the end of March. At the time, it was missing features like the ability to order takeout from Grubhub using conversational context, or identify family members and remind them about chores. A page on Amazon's website notes that some features are still "coming soon," like being able to access Alexa Plus in a web browser or on a Fire TV or Amazon tablet. The company has said it's prioritizing those who own certain Echo Show devices above others.

Report: No One Can Find Amazon's Alexa+ Users

Amazon's newly updated AI voice assistant Alexa+ officially started rolling out to select customers roughly six weeks ago -- but real-world users are still proving mysteriously hard to find. In a report earlier this week, Reuters claimed it searched "dozens" of news sites, as well as social media platforms like YouTube, TikTok, X, Bluesky, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitch, but was unable to find any verifiable Alexa+ users. Reuters did find two users on Reddit who claimed they had used the updated tool, but these users weren't able to provide any hard evidence they had really accessed the tool or verify their identities. Amazon has promised the newly revamped Alexa will provide a much more humanlike conversational flow, claiming this is the end of "Alexa voice" at April's product reveal. The tech giant has also promised numerous ambitious-sounding "agentic AI" features ahead of the voice assistant's launch. According to Amazon, Alexa+ will eventually introduce agentic capabilities "which will enable Alexa to navigate the internet in a self-directed way to complete tasks on your behalf, behind the scenes." For example, arranging to have the user's oven fixed with a service provider, without any intervention beyond the initial command -- though these features will be limited at launch. The tech company largely denied the reports in a statement to Reuters, saying that "hundreds of thousands of customers now have access to Alexa+," adding that though many of the users are Amazon employees, "the overwhelming majority are customers that requested early access." Meanwhile, Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential, commented that the irregularities in the Alexa+ release fit "a pattern of a lot of companies announcing services or products when they are close to being ready, but not quite -- that last mile is a lot farther away than they anticipated." We know the Alexa+ project was hit by numerous setbacks ahead of the official launch. In February, the AI upgrade was delayed by a full month past its initial deadline, allegedly due to a "new version of the assistant giving incorrect answers to test questions at a recent meeting," according to an anonymous employee who spoke to The Washington Post. The project had previously been delayed around the time of the US presidential election in November. When it does eventually roll out for the common user, Alexa+ will cost $19.99 a month but will be free for Amazon+ subscribers

Weeks after Amazon's Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?

SAN FRANCISCO, May 16 (Reuters) - Alexa, where are your users? More than six weeks after Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab began rolling out the new Alexa+ generative artificial-intelligence-powered voice assistant to hundreds of thousands of people, there is scant evidence it is in regular customers' hands. The new service was meant to be a triumph for Amazon after several delays in revamping Alexa in the age of AI chatbots like ChatGPT. The company signaled its significance by bringing CEO Andy Jassy to a February press event in New York where it showcased Alexa+'s capabilities and promised customers would start getting invite access in late March. "There seems to be no one who actually has it," said Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential, who attended the Alexa+ announcement event. "This fits a pattern of a lot of companies announcing services or products when they are awfully close to being ready, but not quite - that last mile is a lot farther away than they anticipated," he said. In an ultimately unsuccessful effort to locate real-world users of Alexa+, Reuters searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta's Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon's Twitch and reviews of Echo voice-assistant devices on Amazon.com. Two who posted on Reddit claimed to have used the service, but did not provide Reuters with hard evidence and their identities could not be corroborated. "Hundreds of thousands of customers now have access to Alexa+ -- of course, some are employees and their families, but the overwhelming majority are customers that requested early access," said an Amazon spokesperson. That is up from the approximately 100,000 users that Amazon reported on May 1. Amazon did not say why there were no verifiable public reviews or reactions to the new service and declined to make available for an interview any active Alexa+ users. The company does not require nondisclosure agreements in exchange for Alexa+ access, a spokesperson said. The rollout of Amazon AI-assisted Alexa+ is proceeding slowly and the service has struggled with speed in answering some questions or prompts, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. It also occasionally generates inaccurate or fabricated information, like other AI models, and is expensive to operate, the people said. Accessed mainly through Amazon televisions and Echo devices, Alexa can set timers, answer search queries and tell the weather if a user requests it out loud. While Apple's (AAPL.O), opens new tab Siri voice assistant preceded the original Alexa by three years, it was the Amazon service that supercharged the acceptance of voice assistants. The overhaul resulting in the generative AI-infused Alexa+ is meant to revitalize the decade-old service and help Amazon compete with chatbots from OpenAI, Meta (META.O), opens new tab and others. Amazon has plowed billions into developing Alexa since it was introduced in 2014, but it has been unprofitable and the vision of customers using it for voice-shopping never materialized. Technology companies typically rely on a mix of analysts, product reviewers, social media influencers and reporters to help get the word out about their newest devices or services. Apple, considered a master of marketing, gives launch-event attendees limited access to its iPhones or laptops for initial reviews, followed shortly by lengthier scrutiny within days or weeks of announcement. Amazon itself gave reviewers time to test out its new color Kindle device at an event in October before making it available to buy just two weeks later. In September 2023, Amazon showed off a prior iteration of the generative AI-infused Alexa and said customers would be getting an "early preview" of it within weeks. It never came. Alexa+ will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and even act as an "agent" on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration, which generally handles only a single request at a time. During Amazon's first-quarter earnings call two weeks ago, Jassy said more than 100,000 people were already using the new voice service and that "people are really liking Alexa+ thus far." Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said that by leaving a large gap between product launch and general availability, Amazon was failing to build anticipation for Alexa+. "Just lean on your curated YouTube or TikTok advocates and tell them what to talk about," he said. "Instead, this makes it look like they are worried about something." Techsponential's Greengart said the February Alexa event could be seen as an early warning sign because attendees were not allowed to try the service themselves, instead being shuffled into breakout sessions where product managers ran through well-rehearsed routines and answered limited questions. Reuters, which attended the event, was also unable to try out the service. By contrast, at Amazon's 2014 launch for its Fire Phone, users could hold the device and try its features. The original Echo device, running the Alexa service, became available weeks after its announcement in November 2014 and users went public with their reactions that December. The upgraded Alexa is designed to allow users to seek shopping advice such as vacation outfits and to receive aggregated news stories. As shown, it is meant to carry out more complicated requests, such as ordering food for delivery while also remembering a user's dietary preferences. To demonstrate Alexa+'s broad use, Amazon pointed to an April TechRadar story, opens new tab that cited an anonymous Reddit post from a user claiming to have tested the service. The Reddit post, opens new tab has since been deleted. Reporting by Greg Bensinger in San Francisco Editing by Kenneth Li, Anna Driver and Matthew Lewis Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab Suggested Topics:Artificial Intelligence Greg Bensinger Thomson Reuters Greg Bensinger joined Reuters as a technology correspondent in 2022 focusing on the world's largest technology companies. He was previously a member of The New York Times editorial board and a technology beat reporter for The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. He also worked for Bloomberg News writing about the auto and telecommunications industries. He studied English literature at The University of Virginia and graduate journalism at Columbia University. Greg lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.

Six weeks on, Amazon Alexa+ shows few signs of public adoption

In brief: After revealing the all-new version of Alexa, called Alexa+, back in January, Amazon started rolling out an early access program for the generative AI-driven digital assistant to select users six weeks ago. But is anyone actually trying it? According to a new report, there doesn't seem to be any Alexa+ users - at least none that can be verified. In February, Amazon confirmed the long-running rumors that it would be releasing a new Alexa assistant with integrated generative AI capabilities. The company promised it would be able to order groceries and takeouts, book table reservations, and perform complex, multi-step tasks. More than six weeks ago, Amazon started rolling out Alexa+ to hundreds of thousands of select users, though its initial abilities in this early access program were limited to a few specific tasks. These included summoning an Uber and uploading documents for the AI to summarize and gather information about users' lives, thereby improving its abilities as an assistant. But Reuters writes that its search for Alexa+ users has been unsuccessful. The publication searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta's Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon's Twitch. Even looking through reviews of Echo devices on Amazon proved fruitless. The only place where Reuters discovered claims of people accessing Alexa+ was on Reddit, where two redditors said they had used the service. However, they did not provide any hard evidence of this and their identities could not be verified. "Hundreds of thousands of customers now have access to Alexa+ - of course, some are employees and their families, but the overwhelming majority are customers that requested early access," said an Amazon spokesperson. That's an increase over the approximately 100,000 users that Amazon said Alexa+ had on May 1. Amazon declined to comment on the lack of public reviews and reactions to Alexa+. A spokesperson confirmed that using the service did not require signing a nondisclosure agreement. In April, TechRadar reported on an AMA thread hosted by a Reddit user who appeared to have early access to Alexa+, though evidence of this consisted of a picture of their username written on a piece of tape, attached to the screen of an Amazon Echo Show displaying the words Alexa+ Early Access. "Old Alexa was hot garbage but this new one was a pleasant surprise," they said. Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential, who attended the Alexa+ announcement event, said that the lack of users isn't unusual in the world of tech. "This fits a pattern of a lot of companies announcing services or products when they are awfully close to being ready, but not quite - that last mile is a lot farther away than they anticipated," he said. Soon after Reuters' report was published, Amazon started notifying more users who signed up for the Early Access program that they can now activate Alexa+. Alexa+ will be free for Amazon Prime members when it rolls out fully. Non-subscribers will pay $19.99.

The curious case of the missing Alexa+ users - many are still waiting for 'early access'

Amazon claims Alexa+ is in use by hundreds of thousands of homes Amazon unveiled Alexa+ with great fanfare more than six weeks ago, but there hasn't been much of a conversation among AI and voice assistant users about it since. My informal check of more than a dozen heavy Alexa users around the U.S. found none with access to it, and a report from Reuters suggests it's far from the explosive event Amazon hyped it up to be at the debut presentation. Alexa+ is supposed to be Amazon's infusion of AI into the eleven-year-old voice assistant. Using generative AI as a glow-up tool makes Alexa smarter, more useful, better at conversation, and just more intuitive as an assistant. Alexa+ is supposed to give the voice assistant many new and enhanced abilities to carry out your requests, such as processing multiple prompts at once and adapting to personalize its services. For instance, it should remember your dietary preferences while helping you order food. Invites for early access were meant to start going out in late March. Anecdotally, none have arrived, and a look around social media doesn't reveal any buzz either. Here at TechRadar, Alexa has, for weeks, been telling Editor at Large Lance Ulanoff that he's "on the early access list," but there's still no sign of Alexa+. Even a Reddit post covered by TechRadar has since been removed from the website. Amazon begs to differ about that conclusion. The company is expressing confidence over the current and future release of Alexa+. "Early Access to Alexa+ is ramping up. It's already open to hundreds of thousands of customers, and we expect it to roll out to millions over the coming month," an Amazon spokesperson told TechRadar. "This is no different than other invite programs we've run - we scale as we learn." As Amazon insists there is no slow-walking of Alexa+, the reasons behind an apparent delay aren't official either. That said, the Reuters report cited possible technical issues around the speed and accuracy of the revamped Alexa, as well as higher-than-preferred costs to run the new models. There's a bit of déjà vu here since Amazon made a lot of noise around an AI-enhanced Alexa in the fall of 2023, with an early preview promised in the weeks ahead that never actually happened. It's a far cry from the 2014 reveal of the original Amazon Echo, which started shipping just a few weeks after it appeared on a stage. Amazon might feel the stakes are too high to prioritize timing over performance this time. If Alexa+ fumbles at launch, it could undercut Amazon's entire smart home strategy. Worse, it might reinforce the idea that Alexa is more of a talking timer than a true digital assistant. Amazon also recently made it so Alexa interactions are processed only in the cloud, removing the option for local processing. This change may boost Alexa+'s brainpower, but it also raises privacy flags that may need to be dealt with before a wide release. So, Alexa+ technically exists, and Amazon swears it's being used. But you'll have to wait for a review of Alexa+ from someone's home. Until then, Alexa+ is more ghost than AI ghost in the machine.

Weeks after Amazon's Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?

Amazon's Alexa+, the AI-enhanced voice assistant, has seen a slow and unclear rollout despite promises of wide availability. Few verified users or public reviews exist, raising doubts about its readiness. Technical issues, limited access, and lack of marketing buzz suggest the service may be struggling behind the scenes.More than six weeks after Amazon.com began rolling out the new Alexa+ generative artificial-intelligence-powered voice assistant to hundreds of thousands of people, there is scant evidence it is in regular customers' hands. The new service was meant to be a triumph for Amazon after several delays in revamping Alexa in the age of AI chatbots like ChatGPT. The company signalled its significance by bringing CEO Andy Jassy to a February press event in New York where it showcased Alexa+'s capabilities and promised customers would start getting invite access in late March. "There seems to be no one who actually has it," said Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential, who attended the Alexa+ announcement event. "This fits a pattern of a lot of companies announcing services or products when they are awfully close to being ready, but not quite - that last mile is a lot farther away than they anticipated," he said. In an ultimately unsuccessful effort to locate real-world users of Alexa+, Reuters searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta's Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon's Twitch and reviews of Echo voice-assistant devices on Amazon.com. Two who posted on Reddit claimed to have used the service, but did not provide Reuters with hard evidence and their identities could not be corroborated. "Hundreds of thousands of customers now have access to Alexa+ - of course, some are employees and their families, but the overwhelming majority are customers that requested early access," said an Amazon spokesperson. That is up from the approximately 100,000 users that Amazon reported on May 1. Amazon did not say why there were no verifiable public reviews or reactions to the new service and declined to make available for an interview any active Alexa+ users. The company does not require nondisclosure agreements in exchange for Alexa+ access, a spokesperson said. The rollout of Amazon AI-assisted Alexa+ is proceeding slowly and the service has struggled with speed in answering some questions or prompts, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. It also occasionally generates inaccurate or fabricated information, like other AI models, and is expensive to operate, the people said. Accessed mainly through Amazon televisions and Echo devices, Alexa can set timers, answer search queries and tell the weather if a user requests it out loud. While Apple's Siri voice assistant preceded the original Alexa by three years, it was the Amazon service that supercharged the acceptance of voice assistants. The overhaul resulting in the generative AI-infused Alexa+ is meant to revitalize the decade-old service and help Amazon compete with chatbots from OpenAI, Meta and others. Amazon has ploughed billions into developing Alexa since it was introduced in 2014, but it has been unprofitable and the vision of customers using it for voice-shopping never materialized. Technology companies typically rely on a mix of analysts, product reviewers, social media influencers and reporters to help get the word out about their newest devices or services. Apple, considered a master of marketing, gives launch-event attendees limited access to its iPhones or laptops for initial reviews, followed shortly by lengthier scrutiny within days or weeks of announcement. Amazon itself gave reviewers time to test out its new colour Kindle device at an event in October before making it available to buy just two weeks later. In September 2023, Amazon showed off a prior iteration of the generative AI-infused Alexa and said customers would be getting an "early preview" of it within weeks. It never came. Alexa+ will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and even act as an "agent" on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration, which generally handles only a single request at a time. During Amazon's first-quarter earnings call two weeks ago, Jassy said more than 100,000 people were already using the new voice service and that "people are really liking Alexa+ thus far." Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said that by leaving a large gap between product launch and general availability, Amazon was failing to build anticipation for Alexa+. "Just lean on your curated YouTube or TikTok advocates and tell them what to talk about," he said. "Instead, this makes it look like they are worried about something." Techsponential's Greengart said the February Alexa event could be seen as an early warning sign because attendees were not allowed to try the service themselves, instead being shuffled into breakout sessions where product managers ran through well-rehearsed routines and answered limited questions. Reuters, which attended the event, was also unable to try out the service. By contrast, at Amazon's 2014 launch for its Fire Phone, users could hold the device and try its features. The original Echo device, running the Alexa service, became available weeks after its announcement in November 2014 and users went public with their reactions that December. The upgraded Alexa is designed to allow users to seek shopping advice such as vacation outfits and to receive aggregated news stories. As shown, it is meant to carry out more complicated requests, such as ordering food for delivery while also remembering a user's dietary preferences. To demonstrate Alexa+'s broad use, Amazon pointed to an April TechRadar story that cited an anonymous Reddit post from a user claiming to have tested the service. The Reddit post has since been deleted.

Weeks after Amazon's Alexa+ AI launch, a mystery: where are the users?

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Alexa, where are your users? More than six weeks after Amazon.com began rolling out the new Alexa+ generative artificial-intelligence-powered voice assistant to hundreds of thousands of people, there is scant evidence it is in regular customers' hands. The new service was meant to be a triumph for Amazon after several delays in revamping Alexa in the age of AI chatbots like ChatGPT. The company signaled its significance by bringing CEO Andy Jassy to a February press event in New York where it showcased Alexa+'s capabilities and promised customers would start getting invite access in late March. "There seems to be no one who actually has it," said Avi Greengart, lead analyst at Techsponential, who attended the Alexa+ announcement event. "This fits a pattern of a lot of companies announcing services or products when they are awfully close to being ready, but not quite - that last mile is a lot farther away than they anticipated," he said. In an ultimately unsuccessful effort to locate real-world users of Alexa+, Reuters searched dozens of news sites, YouTube, TikTok, X, BlueSky and Meta's Instagram and Facebook, as well as Amazon's Twitch and reviews of Echo voice-assistant devices on Amazon.com. Two who posted on Reddit claimed to have used the service, but did not provide Reuters with hard evidence and their identities could not be corroborated. "Hundreds of thousands of customers now have access to Alexa+ -- of course, some are employees and their families, but the overwhelming majority are customers that requested early access," said an Amazon spokesperson. That is up from the approximately 100,000 users that Amazon reported on May 1. Amazon did not say why there were no verifiable public reviews or reactions to the new service and declined to make available for an interview any active Alexa+ users. The company does not require nondisclosure agreements in exchange for Alexa+ access, a spokesperson said. The rollout of Amazon AI-assisted Alexa+ is proceeding slowly and the service has struggled with speed in answering some questions or prompts, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. It also occasionally generates inaccurate or fabricated information, like other AI models, and is expensive to operate, the people said. Accessed mainly through Amazon televisions and Echo devices, Alexa can set timers, answer search queries and tell the weather if a user requests it out loud. While Apple's Siri voice assistant preceded the original Alexa by three years, it was the Amazon service that supercharged the acceptance of voice assistants. The overhaul resulting in the generative AI-infused Alexa+ is meant to revitalize the decade-old service and help Amazon compete with chatbots from OpenAI, Meta and others. Amazon has plowed billions into developing Alexa since it was introduced in 2014, but it has been unprofitable and the vision of customers using it for voice-shopping never materialized. Technology companies typically rely on a mix of analysts, product reviewers, social media influencers and reporters to help get the word out about their newest devices or services. Apple, considered a master of marketing, gives launch-event attendees limited access to its iPhones or laptops for initial reviews, followed shortly by lengthier scrutiny within days or weeks of announcement. Amazon itself gave reviewers time to test out its new color Kindle device at an event in October before making it available to buy just two weeks later. In September 2023, Amazon showed off a prior iteration of the generative AI-infused Alexa and said customers would be getting an "early preview" of it within weeks. It never came. Alexa+ will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and even act as an "agent" on behalf of users by taking actions for them without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration, which generally handles only a single request at a time. During Amazon's first-quarter earnings call two weeks ago, Jassy said more than 100,000 people were already using the new voice service and that "people are really liking Alexa+ thus far." Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, said that by leaving a large gap between product launch and general availability, Amazon was failing to build anticipation for Alexa+. "Just lean on your curated YouTube or TikTok advocates and tell them what to talk about," he said. "Instead, this makes it look like they are worried about something." Techsponential's Greengart said the February Alexa event could be seen as an early warning sign because attendees were not allowed to try the service themselves, instead being shuffled into breakout sessions where product managers ran through well-rehearsed routines and answered limited questions. Reuters, which attended the event, was also unable to try out the service. By contrast, at Amazon's 2014 launch for its Fire Phone, users could hold the device and try its features. The original Echo device, running the Alexa service, became available weeks after its announcement in November 2014 and users went public with their reactions that December. The upgraded Alexa is designed to allow users to seek shopping advice such as vacation outfits and to receive aggregated news stories. As shown, it is meant to carry out more complicated requests, such as ordering food for delivery while also remembering a user's dietary preferences. To demonstrate Alexa+'s broad use, Amazon pointed to an April TechRadar story that cited an anonymous Reddit post from a user claiming to have tested the service. (Reporting by Greg Bensinger in San FranciscoEditing by Kenneth Li, Anna Driver and Matthew Lewis)