Last week, Amazon launched a major update of its line of Alexa-enabled Echo smart speakers and displays. The redesign — led by former Microsoft design chief Ralf Groene, whom Amazon Devices & Services head Panos Panay coaxed out of retirement — included two new Echo Show smart displays. According to Panay, these new models are the first step on a road to building “products that customers love.”
But there’s one big barrier to customers loving their Echo Shows: ads.
The Echo Show has become a rotating billboard in my office
In recent months, full-screen display ads with the tag “sponsored” have been appearing on current Echo Shows, and users are not happy. These ads are new and very intrusive, appearing between photos when the Show is set to Photo Frame mode or between content if it’s set to show different categories (such as music, recipes, news).
As I type, the last-gen Echo Show 8 on my desk just showed an ad for an herbal supplement between a snapshot of my daughter dancing at her aunt’s wedding and a baby picture of my son. The ad reappeared two photos later, and then again. And again.
While advertising has been part of Alexa on Echo devices for a while, in the form of Alexa’s “By the way” feature, the Show’s Shopping category (which you can disable), and the occasional product ad, it’s never been so blatant.
As these new “sponsored” ads become more pervasive, it feels like a bait and switch. There was no indication on the packaging that you were buying an ad-supported product. There’s no discount for buying an Echo Show with ads, as there is with Kindles. And, because these ads are there almost constantly, they’re more intrusive than the voice assistant suggesting a service or product you might want after you just engaged with it. (Don’t get me wrong, that’s annoying, but this is worse.)
On top of that, Alexa Plus — the company’s big update to its voice assistant — is now also throwing in full-screen ads for its own services. The Echo Show has become a rotating billboard in my office.
While currently the ad programming seems to be limited — they haven’t appeared on any other Show devices I have, and some Reddit users report that they don’t see them at all — it’s clear they’re coming. I first heard about full-screen ads appearing in the wild several months ago from a reader who sent me pictures of their Show 15 displaying one. Then, last month, the Alexa subreddit exploded with complaints about them. Many are reporting they’ve unplugged their Shows, and some are claiming to have successfully received refunds from Amazon based on them.
At Amazon’s hardware event last month, I asked Panay how ads fit into his mission to build products customers love. He said that if it’s relevant, it’s not an ad, “it’s an add-on.” “There are moments on the product where ads aren’t always bad,” he told me, explaining that if the customer is looking for something specific, and the ad gets them to that faster, it can be a good thing. However, he conceded that some of “the randomness” of the current ad experiences is not great. “It’s about how you elegantly make sure you’re elevating the information that a customer needs.”
My experience of these ads has not been that they’re an “add-on.” They’re intrusive and annoying, showing me products I’m not even slightly interested in, such as elderberry herbal supplements, Quest sports chips, and tabletop picture frames. (Well, the last one might be an option if I remove the Show from my desk.) And, unlike some of the previous ad experiences on the Show, they cannot be turned off.
“If customers don’t like a suggestion, they can swipe to skip to the next screen card”
I asked Amazon if they can be disabled, and spokesperson Lauren Raemhild replied via email, saying, “Advertising is a small part of the experience, and it helps customers discover new content and products they may be interested in. If customers don’t like a suggestion, they can swipe to skip to the next screen card, or directly provide feedback by tapping the Information icon or pressing the screen.”
I tried this, selected “irrelevant ad” from the list of suggested feedback, and got a message saying it had “paused the ad.” But that didn’t stop another ad from appearing. Echo Show users have been trying all sorts of workarounds — from switching to Canadian English (the ads aren’t in Canada — yet) to enabling Kids Mode. But ultimately, if you have to hobble a device to make it usable, why use it at all?
I believe the smart home has a lot of potential, but the current landscape is increasingly feeling like a collection of compromises. Amazon has a very good voice assistant, but can’t stop trying to sell you stuff. Google occasionally reminds itself that it has a smart home division, but my faith in its continued existence is slim. Apple Home is the best experience, but it’s expensive, locked in, and, well, Siri. Yes, there are other solutions available — Home Assistant, SmartThings — but these require more work than most people are willing to put in, and their voice-control options are limited compared to the competition.
With Alexa Plus and the long-promised ambient smart home finally within reach, it’s time for Amazon to focus on delivering real value — and stop trying to sell us out.
