Yes, they can't constantly send microphone data even if they wanted due to power constraints. They use a dedicated DSP chip with the sole purpose of detecting the hot word.
then stabb the mic afew dozen times, and feed the hotword to the DSP with a button, or better yet use another DSP to bridge your own custom interface to the "hotword sniffer"
typing to an alexa device should be an option, just like having an AI chat.
