Amazon recently rolled out their audacious vision for an AI-driven future on Wednesday, marking an exciting advance in Alexa's capability, now known as Alexa+. With the promise to tackle innumerable everyday tasks — from making dinner reservations to finding a handyman — Alexa+ could be the answer to those time-consuming chores we all love to hate.

Assuming Amazon lives up to its promise, it could well be the first to deliver a comprehensive, consumer-focused AI assistant. They aim to blend a more personable, expressive Alexa, driven by generative AI models, with the ability to seamlessly integrate first and third-party apps, services, and platforms.

Daniel Rausch, VP of Amazon Alexa and Echo, confidently spoke of a future filled with AI agents during his keynote address on Wednesday. "The future is full of agents — we've had this vision for a while," Rausch shared. He envisions a world where AI agents, equipped with specialized skills, would work together to provide a seamless customer experience.

Amazon's renewed traction in this area could be just the break the tech giant needs, given the struggles faced in generating significant revenue from its Alexa investments over the years; revealing how the company's hardware division has reportedly spent billions in the process.

AI agents, increasingly considered game-changers in extracting value from complex models, have been the focus of tech developers. These promising agents, capable of managing monotonous tasks, aim to improve overall productivity significantly, both personal and professional.

As promising as it sounds, AI agents have yet to meet expectations thus far. Even top AI labs like Anthropic and OpenAI, which released agents with web control capabilities, have had their difficulties, including operational errors and the need for user intervention. Other high-profile endeavors like Google's Project Mariner have yet to make it past the prototype phase.

Anticipation surrounds Amazon's Alexa+, set to preview next month, offering a more refined AI experience. The assistant promises to pull various data, such as emails, calendars, and stored preferences, to assist with daily tasks.

At a press event in New York, Amazon showcased Alexa+ creating a grocery list, placing orders through Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods, and local chains. Alexa+ was also demonstrated to automatically purchase products on sale on Amazon, book spa and fitness appointments, manage food delivery orders, secure concert tickets, generate a travel plan, and even import information from an event flyer to set reminders.

The dream too outlandish?

Despite the excitement, Amazon's ambitious plans come with a healthy dose of skepticism. Given Amazon's rich data troves and strong relationships across key tech ecosystems and services, the company is in a solid position to make these plans a reality. Prime users stand to benefit from a tailored agent experience, courtesy of access to Alexa+ since Amazon plans to make it free for this group.

With more than 600 million Alexa-enabled devices in use, Amazon's bet is that most users will see the obvious merits in Alexa+. The company's biggest hurdle may be navigating the technical constraints of current AI technology. Past versions of Alexa could not consistently deliver on basic tasks like switching smart lights on and off, and there are reports of Alexa+ being fraught with its share of setbacks.

Competitors, taking tentative steps in the same direction, have also battled their problems. OpenAI's ambitious project, ChatGPT deep research, sometimes hallucinates, while Google’s Gemini chatbot occasionally produces factually incorrect email summaries.

Unfortunately, Wednesday's press conference didn't offer a comprehensive look at Alexa+'s performance, given the orchestrated nature of the demonstrations and restrictions on attendees spending time with the assistant.

All signs point to waiting for the chance to thoroughly test Alexa+ to see if it lives up to Amazon’s dynamic vision. If it does, it may well be an astonishing achievement, putting Amazon at the forefront of the consumer AI landscape.