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Careful, Alexa Is Listening

NPR

Published February 16, 2018 at 5:11 AM EST

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene. If you own a smart speaker, you know Alexa's always listening, including when the TV is on. In a TV commercial for an Amazon speaker, a guy tells Alexa to order cat food. And an owner filed a complaint saying their smart speaker heard the ad and ordered cat food. Now, Amazon says the ads are made to not trigger speakers, and an advertising watchdog group did dismiss the complaint. You're welcome for not playing the ad here and testing it on your smart speaker. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.