GeekWire Alexa’s next act, Microsoft’s retail play, Google’s AI inbox, and a smart bird feeder fail
Jan 10, 2026
Amazon is revamping Alexa into a generative AI home assistant, while Microsoft is pushing its enterprise strengths in retail. Google plans an AI Inbox for Gmail, promising personal assistant features. A hilarious DIY bird feeder experiment went awry, showcasing the ups and downs of smart home tech. The hosts share insights on device compatibility, and Microsoft's Copilot Checkout aims to redefine retail interaction. Additionally, there's talk about an automating tool named Vi and a Netflix doc recommendation to boot!
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Alexa As A Home Chatbot
- Alexa Plus transforms Alexa from a simple voice interface into a multi-turn generative AI assistant for the home.
- The new web portal and app give users visual controls and make voice interactions editable and persistent.
Give Alexa Your Docs To Make It Useful
- Forward emails or upload documents to Alexa so it can reference them in conversation.
- Use the Alexa web portal to view and edit reminders and uploaded content for better control.
Amazon's Missing Email Layer
- Amazon lacks a native email/calendar layer that competitors like Google and Microsoft already own.
- That gap forces manual workflows and slows Alexa's ability to become a seamless personal assistant.
