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Is Alexa Getting an Upgrade? Inside Amazon’s Push Toward Agentic AI

Olivier Bernard is the Worldwide Go-To-Market Lead for AWSIoT Services at Amazon, where he connects customer needs, technologyopportunity, and business strategy across the global IoT and edge ecosystem. Hebrings deep experience executing at scale across IoT, M2M, automotive, andconnected-device platforms. Bernard blends engineering discipline with business leadership to turn emerging technologies into practical applications that open new markets and deliver measurable impact.

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🎧 Episode Highlights

● [01:25]: Olivier Bernard introduces AWS IoT and smart home ecosystem
● [04:00]: Why many companies exited the IoT market and how Amazon survived
● [9:59]: The plateau of smart devices becoming a plug-and-play feature for homes
● [13:55]: The future of the “invisible home” and automated routines
● [32:36]: AWS re:Invent: Announcing new smart and generative AI devices

🔑 Key Takeaways:
● IoT only matters when it’s connected to outcomes. On its own, device connectivity produces cost and complexity, not value. When paired with AI and cloud infrastructure, IoT data becomes usable intelligence, driving better product decisions, operational efficiency, and customer experience.
● Agentic AI is the turning point for smart homes. Moving away from manual setup and rigid commands toward systems that understand context and adjust on their own removes the friction that held smart homes back. This kind of “invisible” automation is what finally makes smart homes accessible to everyone, not just early adopters.

Posted on:

February 17, 2026