In the rapidly evolving world of voice assistants, Amazon's Alexa may be losing its edge, according to a report by Fortune. While Apple recently unveiled its new "Apple Intelligence"-powered Siri, Amazon's Alexa, considered by many as one of the most capable voice assistants, is reportedly facing challenges with its generative AI makeover.

Fortune's report draws from interviews with over a dozen former Amazon employees, who highlighted a combination of organizational dysfunction and technological hurdles that have hindered Amazon's mission to create "the world's best personal assistant." These hurdles have put Amazon's vision of a real-life version of the Star Trek computer by founder Jeff Bezos at risk.

Despite Amazon's response that the employee claims are outdated, it appears that the enhancements promised for Alexa have faced delays. The more conversational and contextually aware voice assistant showcased at last year's fall hardware event is still in limited preview and has yet to roll out widely. Unfortunately for Amazon, the report suggests that even when the new Alexa does launch, it will fall short of its potential.

Former employees cited concerns that the new Alexa would never be ready or would be overshadowed by competitors upon its release, pointing out that Alexa's reliance on an existing tech stack and a preexisting feature set puts it at a disadvantage compared to companies like OpenAI and its popular ChatGPT.

The integration of the current Alexa with the features promised for the new version has proven to be a challenge for Amazon. The company has struggled to maintain consistent and effective API calls, which enable Alexa to interact with third-party smart home devices and music services. Additionally, training the AI to understand natural language has been difficult due to customers already accustomed to speaking in "Alexa language."

Another obstacle highlighted in the report is Amazon's decentralized organizational structure, causing friction and frustration among the thousands of employees working on Alexa. Former research scientist Mihail Eric claims that the failure of his work on Alexa can be attributed to the organization's org chart and the pressure to tie research to product launches.

However, Amazon remains committed to the growth of its voice assistant. Kristy Schmidt, spokesperson for Amazon, emphasized that their vision for Alexa remains the same – to build the world's best personal assistant. Schmidt mentioned that generative AI has already been integrated into different components of Alexa and that the company is actively working on scaling its implementation in the millions of Alexa-enabled devices already in homes worldwide.

With former executive Dave Limp's departure and the recent appointment of Panos Panay as his replacement, Amazon is facing the challenge of catching up in the competitive voice assistant market. As the fall of 2024 approaches, it remains to be seen if Amazon can deliver on its promises and regain its position as a frontrunner in the voice assistant arms race.