Generally, though, people have to think they have a need. Oh, sure, that’s what marketing’s about. Its job is to create demand where there might not have been any. Sometimes, it generates awareness. Sometimes, it generates leads by finding folks who might be a fit for a product. Sometimes, it just generates enough hype that the product takes off as a mere side effect of an intense hype machine. How does this relate to Alexa? Back in 2014, Alexa seemed kind of weird. People couldn’t quite figure out why you’d want one. It didn’t fit any of the usual product marketing formulas. It was a Pringles-can shaped device you could talk to. Why would you talk to it? Why would you spend a few hundred dollars for it to do what any calculator app would do? Why would you let it take up space just to be a glorified alarm clock? And lights…just flip a switch. It couldn’t be any easier. And for playing music? Well, we had stereos, our iPods or phones, and many other ways to play tunes. Sure, the intercom feature might be helpful. But who needs an internet-connected device listening to your every word? I know this is subjective, but Alexa – more so than Siri or Google’s assistant – seems to have just the right balance between personality and helpfulness, between capability and functionality. Whether you’re setting a timer while cooking, performing a hands-free math calculation while writing, pausing whatever streaming service you’re watching on the Roku TV to ask a trivia or general interest question, Alexa is usually relatively helpful. In 2022, Alexa is ubiquitous. A lot of families have one in practically every room. There’s no doubt she’s a faceless AI front for a giant corporation, but she has generally always been a friendly, helpful faceless AI front for a giant corporation.
The times they are a-changin'
Ruh-roh. Yeah, there’s no way this could go wrong. Playing to the algorithm for priority on the SERP (search engine response page) has already irrevocably changed editorial journalism. Most articles (mine included) go through an SEO review. Even if a headline would be enormously appealing to humans (or simply make the most sense), it might be nuked in favor of one that has higher Google juice. Yes, you’re still getting valuable content (if I do say so myself), but SEO looms large in almost every editorial decision on almost every website. It’s just what everyone now has to do to keep the revenue stream (which is necessary to produce and run expensive publications) coming in. We all need good content, and we all need to pay our bills. It’s not unreasonable to expect that vendors will vie for positional prominence in Alexa’s vendor-supplied answer system. It’s also not unreasonable to expect that sales pitches, even if disguised as oh-so-helpful responses, will invade those answers. This “service” is not expected until October, so we don’t have any sample answers. But we can certainly expect questions like “Should I use scissors or electric clippers to cut my hair” might result in something like, “Never pay for a haircut again with this new cutting-edge design and look your best without the help of others. This answer brought to you by ManGroomer, the ultimate do-it-yourself hair cutting kit. Would you like me to send you one? It can be there in two days.” Now, to be fair, the ManGroomer is awesome and did save me from considerable Zoom meeting embarrassment during the height of the pandemic lockdowns. But that’s not the point. Being pitched, even for products that work, spoils the helpful relationship many of us have developed with Alexa. No longer is she a trusted helpful friend, she’s yet one more door-to-door salesperson trying to sell you something – except she’s already inside the house. We’ve all had that friend who got all caught up in a multilevel marketing scheme. Now, instead of talking about “how ‘bout them Yankees?”, every other word is a pitch for some MLM product or another. It’s annoying, off-putting, and can eventually cause damage to the relationship. “Alexa, set timer for 10 minutes.” Or, perhaps they’ll put ads in our wake-up alarms. “Good morning David. Perhaps you’d like to buy a box of muffins. I can ship them to you right now? “How about more coffee pods? You know you want them. Will nothing be sacred? “Alexa, what’s 228 divided by 19?” Okay, so that’s probably an exaggeration. But how many previously wonderful websites now seem like pitch machines due to monetization and SEO? So what makes us think Alexa won’t go down that same dark hole? The revenue stream is probably too tempting to ignore. Also: How to set up motion-triggered smart lights as an Alexa routine
A changing relationship
I’m sad about this. Alexa has been a fantastic (and frankly unexpected) boon to many of us. At this point, she’s practically a trusted member of the family. But if her essential nature is corrupted by an overreaching quest for yet more Bezos Bucks, it will be a real shame. For example, I wouldn’t feel nearly as comfortable having Alexa in my elderly parents’ house if I thought she would be pressuring them with brand marketing. The same would go for having her around young children, or anyone with poor impulse control. It’s just too easy to say yes to a trusted member of the family. After all, how many times have you said yes to her helpful little queries in the past nine years? So, what do you think? Do you think Alexa is going to turn into an annoying upsell bot? Would you buy anything from Alexa if she pitched it as part of a question answer? Or do you think the world is just going to hell, and this is one more slippery stone on the slippery slope down? Let us know in the comments below. You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.
