Amazon’s AI-powered Alexa+ voice assistant is facing serious technical challenges, according to internal feedback from over 6,400 employee beta testers. The most dramatic incident involved an Amazon software engineer whose fish died after Alexa+ mistakenly turned off a power strip connected to an aquarium filter when asked to turn off a light. This incident highlights the erratic behavior plaguing Amazon’s long-delayed AI assistant upgrade.
Employee testers reported numerous critical failures in October feedback shared via an internal Slack channel. Complaints included Alexa+ talking non-stop while ignoring commands to stop, playing devices at full volume when homes were empty, and taking up to five minutes to respond to simple requests. Some devices stopped working entirely after being linked to the unreleased Alexa+ features, forcing employees to ask how to opt out of beta testing.
Music playback emerged as a persistent problem, with one employee lamenting that “we’re in Q4 2025 and Alexa+ still can’t play a song I ask for.” Another reported their device spontaneously playing music at 3 a.m., eventually forcing them to unplug it. The AI assistant also frequently lost Wi-Fi connections and became unresponsive despite appearing online.
Despite these internal struggles, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy remains optimistic about Alexa+. During an October analyst call, he claimed users have longer interactions and engage across wider topics compared to the classic Alexa experience. The company has made Alexa+ free for Prime subscribers, while non-Prime users must pay $19.99 per month.
An Amazon spokesperson emphasized that the employee feedback referenced an unreleased version differing from the public release, stating that “tens of millions of users” now have access and the “overwhelming majority” of feedback has been positive. However, employee testers questioned whether the improvements justified the subscription fee, with one noting that “other than the improved conversation flow, nothing would justify paying a subscription fee.”
The Alexa+ rollout has been marred by years of delays and technical problems, and these internal testing issues raise questions about whether Amazon’s AI assistant can compete effectively in an increasingly crowded voice AI market.
Key Quotes
When I ask Alexa to turn off the light, it should turn off the light, not everything on the strip. It turned off the power strip that my aquarium filter is on and killed my fish.
An Amazon software engineer beta-testing Alexa+ described a catastrophic failure where the AI assistant misinterpreted a simple command, resulting in the death of their pet fish. This quote illustrates the serious real-world consequences of AI assistant errors.
The behavior has become unbearably erratic. I just wanted to test the new experiences, but I wasn’t expecting to get everything messed up.
An employee tester expressed frustration with Alexa+’s unpredictable performance, highlighting how the AI assistant’s unreliability disrupted normal smart home functionality rather than enhancing it.
We continue to be energized by the response to Alexa+ compared to what we call the classic Alexa experience.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy made this statement during an October analyst call, presenting an optimistic public face that contrasts sharply with the internal employee feedback revealing serious technical problems.
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.
An Amazon employee beta tester questioned the value proposition of Alexa+’s $19.99 monthly subscription for non-Prime users, suggesting the AI improvements don’t warrant the cost—a concerning signal from the company’s own workforce.
Our Take
The Alexa+ troubles reveal a broader challenge facing AI companies: the gap between ambitious AI capabilities and reliable real-world performance. Amazon appears caught between competitive pressure to release an advanced AI assistant and the technical reality that the system isn’t ready for prime time. The fish-killing incident, while darkly humorous, represents a serious failure mode where AI misinterpretation has tangible consequences. This echoes broader concerns about deploying AI systems in critical applications before they’re sufficiently tested. The employee skepticism about Alexa+’s value proposition is particularly telling—if Amazon’s own technically literate staff don’t see the worth, consumer adoption may struggle. Amazon’s decision to charge $19.99 monthly while the product remains buggy suggests financial pressure to monetize Alexa after years of losses, potentially prioritizing revenue over user experience. This could prove strategically shortsighted in the competitive AI assistant landscape.
Why This Matters
This story reveals significant challenges in Amazon’s AI strategy at a critical moment when voice assistants are evolving with generative AI capabilities. Alexa+ represents Amazon’s attempt to compete with advanced AI assistants from Google, Apple, and emerging players like ChatGPT’s voice mode. The technical failures reported by internal testers—particularly catastrophic errors like killing pets and uncontrollable behavior—suggest Amazon may be rushing an unready product to market.
The $19.99 monthly subscription model for non-Prime users indicates Amazon’s need to monetize Alexa after years of losses, but employee skepticism about its value proposition is concerning. If Amazon’s own technically-savvy employees question whether Alexa+ justifies the cost, mainstream consumers may be even harder to convince. This matters because voice AI assistants are becoming a key battleground for controlling smart home ecosystems and capturing consumer AI interactions. Amazon’s struggles could allow competitors to capture market share in this emerging space, potentially undermining its smart home dominance and creating long-term strategic disadvantages in the AI-powered home assistant market.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/alexa-killed-my-fish-tales-from-amazon-employee-beta-testers-2026-1