Amazon is giving Alexa+ Echo Shows another job: playing video ads automatically. Amazon Ads said on Sept. 30 that videos lasting 15 seconds or less can now start in full-screen mode on supported devices, with the sound muted.
The format is available through Amazon DSP in the US, UK, and Germany for managed-service and self-service advertisers. Longer videos can also appear, but they require user interaction before playback begins.
How Alexa+ autoplay video ads work
Amazon calls the format a Silent Autoplay Native Video Ad. Its full-screen autoplay announcement says videos of 15 seconds or less start automatically without sound, while videos longer than 15 seconds and up to 120 seconds use a Click-to-Video format.
Users can tap the screen or ask Alexa to play the full video with sound and then follow the advertiser’s link. Advertisers can reuse existing Asset-Based Creative video rather than produce Alexa-specific assets, and Amazon enables Alexa by default on eligible Display Media Type line items.
Echo Show owners have fewer controls over whether sponsored content appears. Amazon’s support documentation says users cannot completely turn off sponsored ads, although they can swipe past them, hide an individual ad for 30 days, or disable interest-based advertising; non-personalized ads may still appear.
Full-screen ads themselves are not new to Echo Show. Amazon’s Home Screen ad specifications say static ads can fill the display when someone is more than four feet away, while Alexa+ switches to a grid view with an ad card when a user moves within four feet.
Alexa becomes a bigger advertising surface
The autoplay rollout follows Amazon’s broader expansion of Alexa+ across its hardware. In August, the company made Alexa+ free on eligible Fire TV devices in the U.S. without requiring a Prime subscription, extending the assistant beyond Echo hardware.
Smart-home platforms are also gaining more capable AI integrations. Google recently opened Google Home to Claude and other compatible AI agents, allowing approved agents to access certain device data and controls.
For advertisers already using Amazon DSP, the new Echo Show placement extends existing video campaigns to Alexa+ without requiring separate creative. For Echo Show owners, sponsored content can now begin moving as soon as it appears, although sound stays off until the user chooses to engage.
The change follows Amazon’s August decision to raise prices across Echo, Kindle, Fire TV, and eero hardware. Amazon has not disclosed a frequency cap for the autoplay placement, leaving open how often Echo Show owners will encounter the new videos.
Also read: Amazon is also tightening control over AI-driven commerce, including its recent move to block Meta’s Muse AI agent from shopping on Amazon.com.