As artificial intelligence reshapes consumer technology, Amazon is preparing for a major shift in how people interact with its devices. Panos Panay, Senior Vice-President of Devices and Services at Amazon and the creator of the Microsoft Surface line during his time at Microsoft, shared his vision during a recent visit to India on a technology podcast. He said the AI hardware ecosystem is still in its early stages, with new form factors yet to emerge. “We are at the very early stages… we haven’t quite seen the form factors that are yet to come,” he said, adding that while progress is visible, the real transformation is still ahead.
Panay explained that Alexa has traditionally worked in a “command and control” format, where users give short, specific instructions and receive structured responses. That model, he said, is now evolving. “It’s not about command and control. It’s about what am I thinking, how do I say it, and then how the product responds.” With Alexa+, which has not yet launched in India, Amazon aims to make interactions more natural, conversational, and proactive. The assistant will understand context, hold memory as customers choose, make recommendations, update calendars, manage documents, and complete tasks. At that stage, he said, it begins to feel like a real assistant.
However, Panay acknowledged that change may bring discomfort. For nearly 10 years, users have learned what he calls “Alexa speak” — short, direct phrases designed to ensure accuracy. “We’ve almost been teaching people how to speak to Alexa for 10 years,” he said. Moving users from commands like “play this song” to more open-ended requests such as “help me think about what the next song is” will be challenging. “How you unteach that is a big challenge,” he admitted, though he believes the natural experience will be “priceless” once users adapt.
AI will also reshape the interface itself. Alexa devices now include screens and are available in cars, but Panay sees a bigger shift toward ambient AI. For many, this will be their first always-present AI experience — beyond typing prompts into a search box. Screens will dynamically update with relevant visuals, suggestions, and contextual information. “Understanding what the customer needs next is really important for an assistant,” he said, comparing AI to a colleague or co-pilot that must truly understand you to be effective.
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