Maria Diaz/ZDNETWhile there’s been much talk surrounding Amazon’s generative AI-powered overhaul of its voice assistant, Alexa, and its expected subscription fees, we’ve heard little from the e-commerce giant about a launch date. This week, reports indicated the subscription-based update is expected to launch in October but won’t be powered by Amazon’s proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) models.Also: Why Claude’s Artifacts is the coolest feature I’ve seen in generative AI so farThe new and improved Alexa with generative AI should launch in just over a month and is reportedly powered by Anthropic’s Claude AI models. Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Amazon’s in-house software struggled to become the ‘remarkable’ generative AI virtual assistant the company expected, taking too long to respond to prompts and failing to meet expectations.The October launch date for the revamped Alexa is delayed from what was expected earlier this year when reports indicated it would launch in September. It will be a paid alternative voice assistant to the “classic Alexa,” which is how Amazon refers to the currently available free version in internal documents obtained by the Washington Post. Several reports indicate that a subscription to the new virtual assistant, dubbed “Remarkable Alexa,” could cost between $5 and $10 monthly. More