Amazon has launched Alexa+ in Australia, a significantly upgraded version of its voice assistant that moves well beyond simple commands and into the territory of a proper AI-powered personal assistant. Starting today, Australian customers can register for Early Access, and Amazon says it plans to roll out invites to thousands of users over the coming weeks.
Alexa is not just smarter. The whole interaction model has changed. Rather than the old “ask one thing, get one answer” loop, Alexa+ is designed to hold a proper conversation, carry context across devices, and actually take action on your behalf. We’re talking restaurant bookings via OpenTable, proactive home automation, shopping assistance with real order tracking, and even calendar management. Amazon is pitching this less as a smart speaker feature and more as an always-available assistant that lives across your Echo devices, Fire TV, and soon, your web browser at Alexa.com.au.
Under the hood, Alexa+ is built on large language models through Amazon Bedrock (we used to use this at work). Amazon has described it as an entirely new architecture, one that connects to hundreds of services and learns your household’s preferences over time. It can recognise individual voices and faces, remember that your housemate is vegetarian, and adjust the lights when you get home from a long day without being asked.
For Australians specifically, Amazon says the team has done localisation work, i.e training the models on Australian accents, regional slang, and cultural context. Alexa+ apparently knows what a “servo” is, understands that the Roosters and the Magpies play different codes of football, and is tuned to local content sources including ABC, News24, The Guardian, AAP, and Reuters. Spotify and Apple Music are supported alongside Amazon Music and I’ve been using Apple Music on our Amazon smart devices for a while.
On privacy, Amazon says the Alexa Privacy Dashboard lets you review what Alexa heard, manage your voice recordings, and control how long data is stored. Physical camera controls and visual indicators on Echo devices remain in place so nothing has changed there.
As for pricing, Alexa+ will be free for Prime members once it exits Early Access. During the current Early Access period, it’s also free for eligible Amazon customers. Non-Prime members will pay AU$29.99 per month. Existing Echo device owners can register interest at amazon.com.au/newalexa, while purchasing a new compatible Echo device immediately qualifies you to opt in. Amazon notes that the Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, Echo Dot Max, and Echo Studio are purpose-built for Alexa+ with extra processing power and next-generation sensors so if you’re thinking of upgrading anyway, now’s a reasonable time to do it. Amazon says more than 98% of existing Alexa customers in Australia already have a compatible device, so most people won’t need to buy new hardware just to try it.
Apart from getting priority shipping for Amazon Prime subscribers (among other rewards), this is another extra bonus on top!
