Tomorrow, we’ll finally see Amazon’s (previously delayed) Alexa upgrade event, where Amazon is expected to announce generative AI capabilities for the voice assistant, allowing Alexa to understand natural language more easily and hold full conversations with users, among other potential tricks. As our consumer tech writer Samantha Kelly noted, “If announced, this would mark Alexa’s most significant evolution since its debut in 2014.”
A recent CNET survey found, however, that consumer sentiment is having trust issues with smarter smart home devices. Over 2,000 US adults were asked questions about how they feel about voice assistants in devices like Amazon Echo.
Key Findings of CNET’s Home Voice Assistant Survey:
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Home Voice Assistant Usage: Half of US adults (50%) have used a home voice assistant this year (since Jan. 1). Amazon Alexa is the most popular among US adults (27%).
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AI: Nearly 3 in 4 (73%) home voice assistant users have privacy concerns about AI integrations on smart home voice assistants and more than half (56%) would not be willing to pay an extra subscription fee for additional AI features.
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Trust around AI features slightly differs by brand among all US respondents, with Amazon (Alexa) being the most trusted (27%). Gen Z (61%) and Millennials (56%) are the most trusting of brands regarding AI in voice assistants.
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Among those that have used a voice assistant so far this year, “ask a quick question” is the most common functionality (64%), followed by speakers, music and entertainment (49%), set timers (42%), set reminders (36%), and make calls to others (29%).
How will Amazon’s Alexa handle consumer resistance to AI and smart home? We could see new versions of Alexa Emergency Assist, a new approach to Alexa Skills, more smart home integrations — or even (fingers crossed) new Amazon Echo devices. Our earlier coverage noted that reports show that Amazon is interested in charging users a subscription for these new features, which, according to our survey, more than half of survey respondents said they would not pay anything extra for it.
The company is keeping details of the announcement a secret for now. But we’ll dive deeper to what our consumer survey found and what it all means for Amazon’s event on February 26th and Apple’s expected leap into the smart home world later this year.
Home voice assistant users like Alexa, but competition is fierce
The Echo Spot (2nd-Generation) in blue.
Amazon starts Alexa’s revival ahead in the numbers, but not by much. Around half of U.S. Adults have used a home voice assistant since January 1st, 2025 and Alexa ranked at the top with 27% reporting they activated the voice assistant. Apple’s Siri wasn’t far behind at 21%, with Google Assistant/Gemini in third at $18%.
Interestingly, those numbers reverse a bit when looking only at Gen Z adults. While millennials and Gen X prefer Alexa, Gen Z (at 27%) has a slight preference for Apple’s speedy Siri, which is also set for AI upgrades this spring. That indicates Alexa may have some catch-up work to do if it wants to appeal to a younger crowd.
But when was the last time you used a voice assistant for something complex in the first place? If you’re like our surveyed users, you probably stick to simple tasks: The most common activity for US adults was asking a quick question, followed by playing music or entertainment and setting timers/reminders. Using smart home commands was farther down the list, with only 23% of people saying they had ever controlled a smart home with voice assistants.
That, of course, is something Amazon wants to change. Much like Google’s Gemini reveal, we expect Amazon to focus on more complex use cases, encouraging Alexa users to hold longer conversations, complete more complex tasks or home routines — and probably shop more easily on Amazon. That brings up an issue on privacy our survey found.
Privacy fears remain with AI, and extra fees are a problem for users
An AI upgrade brings possibilities but users aren’t interested in fees.
Overall, people aren’t sure what to make of more AI. When we asked people if they’d use a voice assistant more often with new AI features, the highest response was “meh” with 34% neither agreeing or disagreeing with the idea. Only 34% of active users reported interest in using voice assistants more if they got intelligence upgrades.
In good news for Amazon, voice assistant users also trusted Alexa and Amazon the most when it came to AI (27%) followed by Apple Siri (24%) and Google Assistant (23%) juggling for second place. But 50% of respondents said they didn’t trust home voice assistants at all, and a combined 73% were concerned with privacy risks when using AI features.
Those are tough hurdles for Amazon to jump with tomorrow’s event. Depending on what the company announces, it may also be worried by another statistic: Only 23% of adults said they’d pay a fee for more AI features in voice assistants, while 56% said they would not pay anything extra. That doesn’t bode well for an Alexa AI subscription unless it can really prove value beyond a glorified integration with Amazon Prime.
CNET will be present at Amazon’s announcement to hear and see exactly what they have mind and what Panos Panay, head of Amazon’s Devices and Services team, has to say, so expect more news soon. When Alexa’s AI features hit, we’ll follow up with lots of tests and results as well.
Until then, we’re very curious how Amazon can differentiate Alexa’s AI upgrades with what Google has shown with Gemini and what Apple plans with Siri — and just how focused they are on making Alexa a money-printing machine. Stop by tomorrow to find out.
Survey Methodology:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,376 adults, of which 1,308 have used a home voice assistant since Jan. 1, 2025. Fieldwork was undertaken February 18-20, 2025. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all US adults (aged 18-plus).
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