Amazon Alexa is about to get a major upgrade, but with a catch.
After nearly 10 years of providing virtual assistance for free via Alexa, Amazon reportedly has plans to create an AI-powered version of Alexa that "could cost as much as $10 a month," according to The Washington Post, a publication owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Don't worry if you already own or are planning to buy an Echo speaker or another Amazon device for its Alexa capabilities. You'll still be able to use the free version of Alexa — you just won't have access to Alexa's more advanced features, like "recipe suggestions based on your family’s dietary restrictions and AI summaries of the news."
This new development begs the question: Will all AI-powered virtual assistants or services eventually offer a more powerful, feature-rich version as a subscription?
ChatGPT, Gemini, Alexa — will Siri be next?
After Google rebranded Bard to Gemini, it revealed a new subscription-based model for access to its most premium AI assistant: Gemini Advanced. You can try out the service for a month at $0, but after that first month, it'll cost $19.99 every month.
For $20/month, Gemini Advanced uses Google's next-gen 1.5 Pro AI model, comes with 2TB of storage from Google One, and allows you to use Gemini in Gmail, Docs, and other services. For people who use virtual assistants for basic tasks, $20 for Gemini Advanced seems like a waste.
While Google was the first of the major tech companies to implement a subscription for its AI-powered virtual assistant, it followed in OpenAI's footsteps. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Plus in early 2023 at a cost of $20/month, giving users access to stronger AI models that could tackle more complex requests and other premium features.
With Google taking the subscription leap for Gemini Advanced, it's not surprising that Amazon is now jumping on that train for more profits. But are people actually paying for Gemini Advanced right now?
There aren't any currently published subscriber numbers to look at, but in a poll from Android Police on whether people pay for Gemini Advanced, 71% of 2,363 votes said, "No, I don't pay for Gemini Advanced."
With so many subscriptions to juggle right now — streaming services, dating apps, printer ink, meal delivery kits, and more — that high percentage of people not paying for Gemini Advanced doesn't surprise me. But if OpenAI, Google, and now Amazon are charging for an AI-powered version of its chatbot/VA, won't Apple inevitably do the same?
Apple already charges $19.95/month for Apple One, so the company clearly isn't averse to the subscription model. And Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC that Apple may try to "pass it on with the Apple One subscription model," charging between $10 and $20 for Apple Intelligence.
I'd hope that since the company already has an Apple One subscription for its users, any cost for Apple Intelligence would be rolled into the existing Apple One subscription options rather than as a standalone, additional subscription to keep up with.
All that said, isn't AI solving all the wrong problems right now anyway? Unless Google, Amazon, Apple, and others provide clear reasons to invest in an AI-powered assistant versus its basic counterpart, I don't see people shelling out $20 every month for it.
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