Amazon explores the idea of incorporating advertisements into its upcoming Alexa+ service as it seeks new ways to monetize its popular voice assistant technology.

Since 2023, Amazon has been touting Alexa+ as a significant advancement in its voice assistant technology, aiming to make it more conversational, adept, and financially beneficial for the company. On Thursday, Amazon announced in a press release that it has provided early access to this generative AI-powered voice assistant to "millions" of users. Although the product is not yet widely available and some features remain undeveloped, discussions are already underway regarding integrating advertisements into its functionality.

During an investors call, Andy Jassy, Amazon's CEO, highlighted that Alexa+ is currently being tested with select U.S. customers under early access conditions. A more extensive rollout is expected later this year on a global scale. The discussion turned to the potential of Alexa+ to enhance long-term engagement.

A transcript of the call reveals Jassy's comments on this matter:

To date, voice assistants like Alexa have not directly monetized users. However, Amazon plans to leverage Alexa+'s capabilities in e-commerce-such as making restaurant reservations or managing grocery orders-to open new revenue streams. With reports indicating that maintaining Alexa has cost Amazon $25 billion over four years, finding profitable avenues is a pressing concern.

Currently, Echo Show devices display ads while Echo speakers play them during music sessions. While marketers express interest in using platforms like Alexa+ for advertising purposes, introducing ads could deter prospective users from engaging with these emerging services.