Alexa got an AI brain transplant: How smart is it now

I’ve been a loyal user of Alexa, the voice assistant that powers Amazon‘s home devices and smart speakers, for more than a decade. I have five Alexa-enabled speakers scattered throughout my house, and while I don’t use them for anything complicated — playing music, setting timers and getting the weather forecast are basically it — they’re good at what they do.

But since 2023, when ChatGPT added an AI voice mode that could answer questions in a fluid, conversational way, it has been…