Amazon CEO Andy Jassy indicated the company’s interest in incorporating advertising within Alexa+ conversations during the second-quarter earnings call. Jassy believes these ads could facilitate product discovery for users and function as a revenue stream for Amazon.
Jassy stated, “People are excited about the devices that they can buy from us that has Alexa+ enabled in it. People do a lot of shopping [with Alexa+]; it’s a delightful shopping experience that will keep getting better.” He further suggested, “I think over time, there will be opportunities, as people are engaging in more multi-turn conversations, to have advertising play a role to help people find discovery, and also as a lever to drive revenue.”
Amazon has introduced Alexa+ to millions of customers, positioning it as an upgrade to the original Alexa, designed to exhibit agentic behaviors and facilitate more natural interactions. This launch is presented as Amazon’s response to the emergence of generative AI voice assistants from competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity, which have rendered traditional systems less competitive.
Currently, Alexa+ is available without cost to Amazon Prime subscribers, who pay $14.99 monthly. A standalone subscription option is priced at $20 per month. Jassy proposed the potential creation of additional subscription tiers for Alexa+, potentially including an ad-free option.
Existing advertising within Alexa has been limited. It primarily consists of visual advertisements displayed on Echo Show devices and pre-recorded audio ads interspersed between music playback on smart speakers.
Jassy’s concept of AI-generated advertisements integrated into multi-step conversations represents a new avenue for Amazon and the broader technology sector. Interest among marketers in advertising within AI chatbots, particularly Alexa+, exists, though the specific implementation strategies remain undefined.
Other companies in the AI field also recognize the potential of advertising as a business model for generative AI. Google is currently investigating methods to integrate ads into its AI-powered search experience called AI mode. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has expressed openness to incorporating “tasteful” advertising within ChatGPT.
Amazon’s investment in AI development is substantial. During the second quarter of 2025, the company’s capital expenditures increased by 90% to $31.4 billion compared to the same period the previous year. A significant portion of these expenditures is allocated to developing proprietary AI chips and constructing data centers to support AI models. While Amazon’s cloud business, AWS, experienced an 18% revenue increase during the second quarter, the company is seeking new revenue streams to offset these investments.
Jassy anticipates increased user engagement with Alexa+ compared to the original Alexa, which he expects to drive advertising revenue and sales on Amazon.com. Early feedback suggests mixed reception to Alexa+, with reports indicating challenges in delivering certain complex features and a slower-than-anticipated rollout.
Amazon faces challenges before integrating ads into Alexa+. Similar to many AI models, Alexa+ is susceptible to hallucinations, which are instances where the AI generates inaccurate or misleading information. Amazon may need to implement safeguards to prevent its AI from providing false advertising for products before advertisers are willing to use Alexa+ to promote their offerings.
Jassy appears optimistic about the potential growth of advertising within Amazon’s overall business strategy. Amazon’s advertising revenue increased by 22% during the second quarter, compared to the same period last year.
Integrating advertisements into AI chatbot conversations could raise privacy considerations. Generative AI chatbots have the potential to collect more data from users because people tend to engage in longer, more conversational exchanges with these systems compared to traditional assistants like Alexa and Siri. Concerns may arise among certain users regarding the potential sale of their data to advertisers and the appearance of ads within their natural language interactions with AI.
