Amazon has officially introduced Alexa+, a more advanced version of its popular voice assistant powered by generative AI. The announcement was made last night during an event during which Amazon showcased Alexa+ as a smarter, more personalised, and highly conversational assistant designed to help with daily tasks, entertainment, and home management.
Smarter and more personalised AI assistant
Panos Panay, Senior Vice President of Devices & Services at Amazon, highlighted how Alexa+ takes personal assistance to the next level. The new AI-powered assistant is designed to keep you entertained, help you stay organised, summarise complex topics, and even engage in conversations on a wide range of subjects.
Alexa+ can now handle tasks like making reservations, tracking and recommending music artists, and managing your home security. It can also assist with shopping by helping you search, find, and purchase items online while offering personalised suggestions based on your interests and past activities.
According to Panay, Alexa+ can recall details about your shopping habits, the music and videos you enjoy, your shipping addresses, and preferred payment methods. The AI assistant can tailor responses and recommendations to suit your needs. For instance, if you share your familyโs dietary preferences, Alexa+ can suggest meal ideas or recommend restaurants that cater to specific dietary requirements, such as vegetarian or gluten-free options.
Advanced features and smart home integration
Alexa+ retains all of its predecessor’s voice-controlled smart home capabilities while introducing new enhancements. It can still manage your smart home devices, answer questions, play music, set reminders, and control connected gadgets with simple voice commands. Additionally, it can respond to multiple prompts in sequence, making it even more efficient.
Daniel Rausch, Vice President for Alexa and Echo, explained that Alexa+ leverages Amazon Bedrock to access large language models like Amazon Nova and Anthropicโs Claude. The assistant also pulls information from trusted sources such as Associated Press, Reuters, TIME, USA TODAY, and Politico. This ensures Alexa+ delivers fast and accurate answers on topics ranging from finance to sports.
Despite its improvements, some of Alexa+โs most advanced features may initially be limited to users in the United States. Rausch showcased how Alexa+ can seamlessly coordinate services behind the scenes. For example, it can recommend a home maintenance provider to fix an oven, contact them on your behalf, and book the service via Thumbtack. Similarly, you can make a restaurant reservation through OpenTable, arrange an Uber for your friend, and even text them with your plans. However, these capabilities may not be available in all regions immediately.
Availability and pricing
With over 500 million Alexa-enabled devices already in use, Amazon plans to roll out Alexa+ gradually. It will first be available in the U.S. through an early access programme, prioritising Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices over the next few weeks. Amazon has not confirmed exact timelines for global availability but intends to expand the rollout in the coming months.
Alexa+ will be free for Amazon Prime members, while non-Prime users must pay US$19.99 monthly. Amazon has not yet announced local pricing for other regions, but further updates are expected soon.
