Amazon has announced Alexa+, its next-generation assistant powered by generative AI, bringing it on par with the likes of Google Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and more. “Alexa+ is more conversational, smarter, personalized—and she helps you get things done,” said Amazon.
Alexa+: All Features
“She keeps you entertained, helps you learn, keeps you organized, summarizes complex topics, and can converse about virtually anything. Alexa+ can manage and protect your home, make reservations, and help you track, discover, and enjoy new artists. She can also help you search, find or buy virtually any item online, and make useful suggestions based on your interests,” Amazon said in a blog post.
Conversations with the assistant claimed to have been improved, with them being more “expansive and natural.” Whether you’re speaking in half-formed thoughts, using colloquial expressions, or exploring complex ideas, Alexa+ understands what you mean, and responds like a trusted assistant, according to the company.
Powering Alexa+ are the LLMs available on Amazon Bedrock. The assistant is designed to take action and can orchestrate across tens of thousands of services and devices. To achieve this, Amazon created a concept called “experts”—groups of systems, capabilities, APIs, and instructions that accomplish specific types of tasks for customers.
“Alexa+ can control your smart home with products from Philips Hue, Roborock, and more; make reservations or appointments with OpenTable and Vagaro; explore discographies and play music from providers including Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, and iHeartRadio; order groceries from Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods Market, or delivery from Grubhub and Uber Eats; remind you when tickets go on sale on Ticketmaster; and use Ring to alert you if someone is approaching your house.”
Alexa+ also introduces agentic capabilities, which will enable Alexa to navigate the internet in a self-directed way to complete tasks on your behalf, behind the scenes. For instance, you need to get your oven fixed—Alexa+ will be able to navigate the web, use Thumbtack to discover the relevant service provider, authenticate, arrange the repair, and come back to tell you it’s done—there’s no need to supervise or intervene.”
The upgraded Alexa is also highly personalised so its responses get tailored to the user patterns. Moreover, it can remember what you tell it to, even from past conversations, and she can apply that knowledge to take useful action. “For example, if you are planning a dinner for the family, Alexa+ can remember that you love pizza, your daughter is vegetarian, and your partner is gluten-free, to suggest a recipe or restaurant.”
Alexa+ can also suggest users to take action by being proactive when it’s important, like telling users to leave early for work if there’s traffic across their route.
Customers will also be able to access Alexa+ in a new mobile App (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play store) and a new browser-based experience at Alexa.com. You can start a conversation with Alexa+ on your Echo device, continue on the go with your phone or in the car, and pick it up on your computer—Alexa+ remembers the context and can continue the conversation across any of your endpoints.
Alexa+ is also multimodal, so users can send it documents, emails, photos, and messages for it analyse, remember, and summarize. “Built on the secure infrastructure of AWS, Alexa+ brings world-class privacy and security protection to your everyday interactions,” said Amazon.
Alexa+: Pricing
Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month, but all Amazon Prime members will get it for free. Alexa+ has been launched as the newest Prime benefit.
Alexa+: Supported Devices, Rollout Timeline
Alexa+ will start rolling out in the U.S. in the next few weeks during an early access period, and subsequently in waves over the coming months. Amazon said it will prioritize Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 device owners in the early access period.
Customers will be notified via email and through device notifications once access is granted. Once you have access and opt-in, Alexa+ will start working across all your compatible Echo devices, Fire TV, and Fire tablets, as well as on your web Browser and the Alexa app. There’s no word on India arrival of Alexa+ as of now.
As for the supported devices, when you get access to Alexa+ by owning or purchasing an Echo Show 8, 10, 15, or 21, it will be available on all Echo devices, except certain older generation Echo devices like Echo Dot 1st Gen, Echo 1st Gen, Echo Plus 1st Gen, Echo Tap, Echo Show 1st Gen, Echo Show 2nd Gen, and Echo Spot 1st Gen, where you can continue to use the original Alexa.
You’ll also be able to try Alexa+ on your web browser, the Alexa app, compatible Fire TVs and Fire tablets. However, this experience is not currently supported on Alexa Built-in devices and Amazon Astro.