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Inside Amazon's Alexa+ troubles: Employees report 'unbearably erratic' performance during internal testing
Inside Amazon's Alexa+ troubles: Employees report 'unbearably erratic' performance during internal testing
Amazon's upgraded Alexa+ voice assistant faces internal criticism. Employees testing the service report major technical glitches and unreliability. Basic smart home tasks failed, and commands were often ignored. Some testers experienced serious issues, including a fish dying due to an aquarium filter being switched off. Music playback also proved problematic. These internal reports raise doubts about the paid subscription's worth.
Gadgets Now Bureau | Gadgets Now
Published: Jan 5, 2026, 11:55PM IST
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Amazon employees testing the company's upgraded Alexa+ voice assistant have raised serious concerns about the service's reliability and whether it's worth paying for. The e-commerce giant released the new Alexa to the public last month, featuring more natural conversation abilities and a new web-based version of the AI voice assistant.Internal feedback from Amazon employees testing Alexa+ has revealed major technical problems and doubts about its value as a paid subscription. In Slack group chats with over 6,400 beta testers in October 2025, employees said the assistant's performance was "unbearably erratic," with basic smart home tasks failing when new features were turned on.
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According to a Business Insider report, these internal reports show the assistant frequently ignored commands or stopped responding entirely. One employee wrote: "All my experiences thus far with Alexa+, inclusive of this one, haven't convinced me that, other than the improved conversation flow, anything would justify paying a subscription fee."The feedback included several examples showing serious problems caused by the assistant's errors. A software engineer reported that when he asked Alexa to turn off a light, it instead switched off a power strip. In his complaint, he said Alexa turned off a power strip connected to his aquarium filter, which killed his fish.Some testers also had problems with music playback. One employee complained that the device played music at full volume at 3 am or failed to play requested songs at all. A third tester said, "It's so discouraging that we're in Q4 2025 and Alexa+ still can't play a song I ask for."Some devices became so unresponsive that employees asked how to leave the testing program. "None of my devices, including the Alexa app, are responsive anymore," a fourth employee wrote."The behaviour has become unbearably erratic. I just wanted to test the new experiences, but I wasn't expecting to get everything messed up," one employee explained.Other testers said the assistant kept talking even after they repeatedly asked it to stop, or suddenly played audio at full volume when no one was home.
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Beta testers also noted on Slack that Alexa+ was unreliable, often not responding to voice commands, losing Wi-Fi connection, or freezing. Some testers waited several minutes for replies, while others said their devices stopped working completely.The upgraded Alexa+ voice assistant has faced years of delays and technical problems. It was released to the public earlier this year but remains available only to users who request access or have newer devices.Amazon encourages employees to test company products internally to help find problems early. This internal testing is meant to help identify bugs before products reach customers. However, the report noted that no new comments appeared in the Slack channel after October 2025, so it's unclear whether the reported problems were fixed.An Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that the employee feedback relates to an internal version of Alexa+, which is different from what users currently get and doesn't reflect the typical customer experience. The spokesperson said tens of millions of people now have access to Alexa+, and the "overwhelming majority" of feedback has been positive."As with any other consumer technology company, it's a standard part of the development process to beta-test products and features internally, well before they're distributed to customers," the spokesperson said.
What Amazon said about Alexa+ performance
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy remains confident about Alexa+. Speaking to analysts in October, he said users spend more time interacting with Alexa+ and can discuss a wider range of topics compared to the older version. Alexa+ is free for Prime members, while non-Prime members pay $19.99 per month."We continue to be energised by the response to Alexa+ compared to what we call the classic Alexa experience," Jassy said during last year's earnings call.
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