01:37 PM EDT, 04/10/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with response and additional details from Amazon ( AMZN ) in the fourth and fifth paragraphs.)

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) said Wednesday it will stop paying developers to build apps for its Alexa voice-activated digital assistant at the end of June.

"After 7 years of running the program, we will be ending the program globally on June 30," the Amazon ( AMZN ) said in a notice posted online.

The company said it will also no longer offer free credits that Alexa developers could use to power their programs with Amazon Web Services.

"These older programs have simply run their course, so we decided to sunset them," an Amazon ( AMZN ) spokesperson told MT Newswires.

Less than 1% of developers were utilizing the programs that the company is sunsetting, and app creators could still monetize their Alexa programs by selling digital products or subscriptions, the company said.

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