Smart rings, smart screens, smart TVs, smart pins, smart… ice cube makers? Of course you wouldn’t. AI was everywhere at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, with companies big and small showing off how they’re bringing it to more devices. For Amazon, CES was an opportunity to show off its latest acquisition in the space: Bee. Bee is an AI device that can be worn as a clip-on pin or bracelet.
Amazon has already entered the AI consumer device space with Alexa, and its upgraded AI-powered version, Alexa+, can run on 97% of the hardware devices shipped by Amazon. But with Bee, the company has access to wearables that can extend its reach beyond the home.
Bee is primarily designed to record conversations such as interviews, meetings, and classes, but it also functions as an AI companion. The AI has access to the world’s knowledge and learns more about you from a combination of your recordings and the services you give it access to, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, your phone contacts, and Apple Health.
Given that Amazon is already trying to incorporate Alexa into wearable products like earbuds and glasses, it might seem like the company is about to mix things up with the addition of a new AI companion. But these early Alexa devices failed to catch on in the face of competition like Apple’s AirPods and Ray-Ban’s Meta AI glasses. Amazon seems to understand this, which is why it’s adding Bee to its lineup.
“We see each other as complementary friends,” Bee co-founder Maria de Lourdes Zollo said of the relationship between Bee and Alexa in an interview at CES last week. “Bee understands what’s outside the home, Alexa understands what’s inside the home, and of course there will be a future where the two merge.”
That future doesn’t yet mean Bee’s AI will replace Alexa. Amazon Alexa Vice President Daniel Rausch said Amazon believes what Bee’s team has created is an “important and beloved experience.” He describes Bee as a “deeply engaging and personal” AI, but also agreed that Alexa and Bee will be integrated at some point.
“We know this will be more beneficial for our customers than ever before. [the AI experiences] “When these AI experiences are available throughout the day and are continuous, we can do more for our customers,” Rausch explained.
De Lourdes Zollo said Bee learns from its users and understands their patterns, insights, and commitments, which helps suggest to-do items and follow up throughout the day.
Initial use cases include students recording lectures, older adults who have trouble remembering things, and people who speak for a living and don’t want to take manual notes all the time.
“They just want a place where they can summarize everything they’ve said,” said the Bee co-founder. “So we build a very large graph of knowledge based on that. [about] It’s a place where you can chat with Bea and understand not only what happened to you, but how you will change in your life,” added De Lourdes Zorro.
Like Alexa, Bee uses a mix of AI models under the hood, but is considering adding Amazon’s AI as one of the mix. After transcribing conversations, Bee discards the audio, making it impractical for many work-related use cases where conversations need to be replayed to ensure accuracy.
Without revealing anything, De Lourdes Zorro teased that there is still a lot in store for the 2026 Bee. In addition to recent announcements of new features like voice memos, templates, and daily insights, the founder said his team of eight is working on “a lot of new things” at its San Francisco headquarters. Amazon already has a lot of hardware and Alexa employees there.
“Honestly, the possibilities are endless now. That’s one of the reasons we’re really excited to be part of Amazon,” she said.
