The news: Some Amazon Prime members are pushing back as Amazon quietly flipped their voice assistants to Alexa+ by default without opt-in, triggering complaints about sudden voice changes, unsolicited responses, and a sense of being monitored, per PCMag.
The updated LLM-powered voice assistant, which can complete tasks on users’ behalf, began as a limited rollout in mid-2025 and is now landing on devices with a brief notification and no required action.
Why it’s worth watching: Alexa+, which Amazon says is supported by 97% of its devices, is the company's hub for ads on connected devices. With the upgrade, the AI device will reach a majority of the 22.7% of the US population we forecast to use Alexa this year.
The change is not without precedent.
- The surprise rollout is reminiscent of Roku testing autoplay ads, forcing users to watch a full-screen “Moana 2” trailer before accessing their home screens.
- Amazon similarly added ads to Prime Video in early 2024, made them the default, and began charging $2.99 a month in the US to remove them, resetting the value of a standard Prime subscription.
Blanket feature rollouts are indicative of platforms chasing engagement and ad monetization first and considering user permission second.
The challenge: Default-on experiences speed adoption and deliver instant scale, but they often do so at the expense of user goodwill. Alexa+ widens Amazon’s ambient ad footprint beyond speakers into kitchens, living rooms, and now web browsers.
That reach is powerful, but it’s also brittle. Forced changes can sour sentiment quickly, and that unease could spread to brands and campaigns attached to the experience. When users feel spoonfed rather than served, tolerance for ads can drop just as fast as adoption rises.
Implications for advertisers: Amazon’s automatic Alexa+ upgrade shows how fast platforms will move to reset interfaces and ad surfaces. Brands should consider that default rollouts can create instant scale but are also subject to reputational risk and user pushback.