Just about every plan to monetize Alexa has failed, with one former employee calling Alexa "a colossal failure of imagination," and "a wasted opportunity."Alexa was given a huge runway at the company, back when it was reportedly the "pet project" of former CEO Jeff Bezos.It's not like Alexa plays ad breaks after you use it, so the hope was that people would buy things on Amazon via their voice.Amazon also tried to partner with companies for Alexa skills, so a voice command could buy a Domino's pizza or call an Uber, and Amazon could get a kickback.The team also tried to paint Alexa as a halo product with users who are more likely to spend at Amazon, even if they aren't shopping by voice, but studies of that theory found that the "financial contribution" of those users "often fell short of expectations.""