Amazon launched some Alexa-enabled Echo devices a week ago. The result has been absolutely chaotic, full-screen ads on smart displays.
Ads aren't new in Amazon's devices, ad-supported Kindle eReaders have been sold for a long time, they cost a little less than the regular versions. You may be aware that Prime Video has ads too. And ads on Alexa devices are not new either, they have been around for a couple of years. Up until now, the ad experience has been relatively muted, even on the Echo Show.
That changed with the release of the new models, which appears to be rather spammy with ads. According to The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, the ads seem to be appearing on the smart home devices frequently, very frequently. On an Echo Show 8, an ad appeared once between two photos, and this happened many times. And you can't turn them off, or opt out of it.
The ads aren't, well, marked as ads or sponsored. Amazon's Echo Show just "highlights" the products that you may be interested in. Sneaky, isn't it? Then again, it is made and marketed by an online shopping giant. It's an unpleasant experience, but one we should have seen coming, especially in this day and age, where ad-supported is basically the starter tier. It is no a longer consumer-first economy.
Earlier this year, Amazon introduced Alexa Plus, its AI-powered assistant, which shouldn't come as a surprise. A couple of months ago, Amazon announced an Alexa+ Home screen Ad program, which displays full-screen ads for products on Alexa+ powered Echo Show Devices. This was launched in the US, UK and Germany. This was a part of Amazon's marketing strategies, to improve its revenue from its Devices & Services division.
The Division's head, Panos Panay, had told Tuohy, that the ads are not ads, if they are relevant. He called them "an add-on", which can help customers who are looking for something specific. But he also admitted that the current state of the ads were randomized. That would explain why users have been getting ads for products that they were not interested in. What next? Ads on the speaker? Speaking of which, remember when Amazon disabled local processing of Alexa voice requests. Coincidence?
Users can swipe to the next screen, or press the information button to provide feedback. But none of these stop the ads. Echo users on Reddit are annoyed by the changes, with some saying that they have unplugged their Echo Show due to the intrusive ads, others said they have cancelled their Amazon Prime subscription, and have switched to different speakers.
Do you have an Amazon Echo Show? Will you buy one knowing it will display ads?
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