Artificial intelligence and smart home technology have transformed how we interact with our devices, and Amazon’s latest offering takes this evolution to new heights. Alexa+, Amazon’s next-generation AI assistant powered by generative AI, promises to deliver a more conversational, intelligent and personalised experience for users across the Amazon ecosystem.
While you’re here, make sure to check my review on the Amazon Echo devices here at Craving Tech!
The new Alexa+ aims to make conversations feel more natural and expansive. Rather than requiring specific command phrasing, Alexa+ can understand colloquial expressions, half-formed thoughts and complex ideas. This marks a significant improvement over current voice assistants that often struggle with natural language.
What truly sets Alexa+ apart is its action-oriented design. Amazon has created “experts”—specialised systems that allow Alexa+ to orchestrate across thousands of services and devices. These experts enable integration with smart home products from Philips Hue and Roborock, dining services like OpenTable, music streaming from Spotify and Apple Music, and food delivery through Grubhub and Uber Eats.
Perhaps most impressive is Alexa+’s new agentic capabilities, allowing it to navigate the internet independently to complete tasks on your behalf. Need an oven repair? Alexa+ can discover service providers, make arrangements, and handle the entire process without requiring supervision.
The personalisation aspect of Alexa+ could be particularly useful. Beyond knowing your purchase history and preferences, you can teach Alexa+ to remember family recipes, important dates, and dietary preferences. This contextual awareness allows for more helpful suggestions based on your household’s specific needs.
For smart home enthusiasts, Alexa+ offers enhanced capabilities across the 600 million Alexa devices currently in use. You can control entertainment systems, move music between speakers, and integrate with Ring security systems—all through more intelligent voice commands that understand context.
Amazon is expanding Alexa+ beyond home devices. Users will access it through a new mobile app (iOS and Android) and browser-based experience at Alexa.com. Conversations can begin on an Echo device and continue seamlessly on your phone or computer, with context preserved across endpoints.
The knowledge base of Alexa+ has been significantly enhanced by combining large language models with Alexa’s existing database. This means more accurate and comprehensive responses to both specific and vague queries. Users can also expand this knowledge base by sharing documents, emails, photos, and messages for Alexa to process and act upon.
Check out Amazon’s blog for more on Alexa+.
Pricing and Availability
In an interesting pricing strategy, Alexa+ will cost A$19.99 per month but will be included free for all Amazon Prime members. This makes it yet another value-added benefit to the Prime subscription service (which I am subscribed to at the moment).
The rollout begins in the U.S. in the coming weeks with an early access period, prioritising Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 device owners. Wider availability will follow in waves over subsequent months.
