Nilay Patel

That's a big remit, but this conversation is almost entirely focused on Alexa. Panos and I talked the day after he announced Alexa+, the new AI-powered version of Amazon's famous voice assistant. And I gotta tell you, this one gets pretty deep into the weeds of how it all works, and how Panos thinks about running his teams to make it happen.

We actually talked about Alexa so much in this episode that I think it's important to take a break here so that any of you with an Alexa device can go mute the microphone. Go ahead, we'll be waiting. All right, you back? So this is another one of those full circle Decoder episodes that I love so much.

We actually talked about Alexa so much in this episode that I think it's important to take a break here so that any of you with an Alexa device can go mute the microphone. Go ahead, we'll be waiting. All right, you back? So this is another one of those full circle Decoder episodes that I love so much.

We actually talked about Alexa so much in this episode that I think it's important to take a break here so that any of you with an Alexa device can go mute the microphone. Go ahead, we'll be waiting. All right, you back? So this is another one of those full circle Decoder episodes that I love so much.

I actually talked to Panos's predecessor running devices and services, Dave Limp, here on Decoder in 2021. If you're the type to follow executive shuffles, you know that Dave left Amazon to go work for Blue Origin. which is Jeff Bezos' rocket company, in 2023, and Panos was hired as his replacement from Microsoft, where he was running Surface and Windows.

I actually talked to Panos's predecessor running devices and services, Dave Limp, here on Decoder in 2021. If you're the type to follow executive shuffles, you know that Dave left Amazon to go work for Blue Origin. which is Jeff Bezos' rocket company, in 2023, and Panos was hired as his replacement from Microsoft, where he was running Surface and Windows.

I actually talked to Panos's predecessor running devices and services, Dave Limp, here on Decoder in 2021. If you're the type to follow executive shuffles, you know that Dave left Amazon to go work for Blue Origin. which is Jeff Bezos' rocket company, in 2023, and Panos was hired as his replacement from Microsoft, where he was running Surface and Windows.

Having now talked to them both, it's safe to say that they have very different approaches to running teams and products. So I was excited to dig into what changes Panos had made in order to make the new Alexa Plus happen. Now, Panos and I have known each other for a long time, which I think comes out in this conversation.

Having now talked to them both, it's safe to say that they have very different approaches to running teams and products. So I was excited to dig into what changes Panos had made in order to make the new Alexa Plus happen. Now, Panos and I have known each other for a long time, which I think comes out in this conversation.

Having now talked to them both, it's safe to say that they have very different approaches to running teams and products. So I was excited to dig into what changes Panos had made in order to make the new Alexa Plus happen. Now, Panos and I have known each other for a long time, which I think comes out in this conversation.

If you're a tech fan, you know that he was the Microsoft executive who really brought the Windows hardware market back to life by introducing the Surface line of tablets and laptops. Then he eventually ended up overseeing Windows itself. That was a big job, but you'll hear Panos say that the idea of infusing Alexa with AI really drew him to Amazon.

If you're a tech fan, you know that he was the Microsoft executive who really brought the Windows hardware market back to life by introducing the Surface line of tablets and laptops. Then he eventually ended up overseeing Windows itself. That was a big job, but you'll hear Panos say that the idea of infusing Alexa with AI really drew him to Amazon.

If you're a tech fan, you know that he was the Microsoft executive who really brought the Windows hardware market back to life by introducing the Surface line of tablets and laptops. Then he eventually ended up overseeing Windows itself. That was a big job, but you'll hear Panos say that the idea of infusing Alexa with AI really drew him to Amazon.

Like so many folks in tech, he sees AI as a platform shift that will change the way we use computers. And he's very aware that Amazon has a big advantage with the enormous number of Alexa devices that are already being used all over the world. Making all those devices a bit smarter and more capable with AI sounds easy, but actually doing it is fairly hard.

Like so many folks in tech, he sees AI as a platform shift that will change the way we use computers. And he's very aware that Amazon has a big advantage with the enormous number of Alexa devices that are already being used all over the world. Making all those devices a bit smarter and more capable with AI sounds easy, but actually doing it is fairly hard.

Like so many folks in tech, he sees AI as a platform shift that will change the way we use computers. And he's very aware that Amazon has a big advantage with the enormous number of Alexa devices that are already being used all over the world. Making all those devices a bit smarter and more capable with AI sounds easy, but actually doing it is fairly hard.

And we sat in the weeds of that execution for a while. There's a lot of ideas here, and a lot of different parts of Amazon needed to work together in new ways to bring those ideas to life. That is pure decoder bait, and Panos was game to really get into it. He even got a little emotional at some points.

And we sat in the weeds of that execution for a while. There's a lot of ideas here, and a lot of different parts of Amazon needed to work together in new ways to bring those ideas to life. That is pure decoder bait, and Panos was game to really get into it. He even got a little emotional at some points.

And we sat in the weeds of that execution for a while. There's a lot of ideas here, and a lot of different parts of Amazon needed to work together in new ways to bring those ideas to life. That is pure decoder bait, and Panos was game to really get into it. He even got a little emotional at some points.

One note before we start, Panos talks about experts a lot, and what he means in this context is the individual services that power different parts of the Alexa Plus experience, like music or photos. It's kind of like apps on a smartphone. You'll see what I mean as we go through this conversation, but if it gets confusing, just think app, and it'll click into place.