Arriving more than a year after it was first announced, Alexa is finally catching up to Google’s Gemini.
Amazon has finally pulled back the curtain on its much-anticipated generative AI-powered upgrade to Alexa — introducing Alexa Plus. Designed to break down the barriers of traditional voice assistants, Alexa Plus promises a seamless, intuitive, and more capable experience, blending advanced AI with Amazon’s expansive ecosystem. If all goes as planned, this could redefine the way we interact with smart devices, making everyday tasks easier, faster, and even more personalized.
A New Era of Voice Assistance
The new Alexa Plus isn’t just an upgrade; it’s a complete overhaul. Amazon is betting big on generative AI, and the results look promising. The assistant now boasts the ability to handle complex, multi-step tasks — whether you’re ordering groceries, sending event invites, or setting up intricate smart home routines, Alexa Plus can do it all with a simple voice command.
One standout feature is Alexa’s newfound memory. The assistant can learn and remember personal details, like your dietary restrictions, favorite movies, or preferred workout times. This makes future interactions feel more natural and tailored to your life.
Affordable Access with Prime Perks
Alexa Plus will be available for $19.99 per month as a standalone subscription, but if you’re an Amazon Prime member, you get access for free — a compelling offer considering Prime itself costs just $14.99 per month or $139 per year. This includes access to a revamped Alexa.com portal, where users can engage in “longform work” directly with the assistant.
Amazon is rolling out early access next month, and the upgrade will work on nearly every Alexa device, starting with the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21.
Conversational and Vision Capabilities
Gone are the days of rigid, one-command-at-a-time interactions. Alexa Plus can now carry on fluid conversations without constantly repeating its wake word. With integrated vision capabilities, it can also snap pictures and analyze images. For example, you could show Alexa a handwritten note, and it could save, read, or even summarize its content.
During a live demo, Amazon SVP of Devices and Services Panos Panay asked Alexa if someone had walked the dog recently. Alexa checked smart home cameras and confirmed the task — showcasing its ability to blend voice commands with visual data.
Your Personal Digital Concierge
Alexa Plus takes personal assistance to a new level. Imagine asking Alexa to research your next vacation destination, draft an itinerary, and add reminders for each activity. Or maybe you need help studying — Alexa can read study guides, quiz you on the material, and even suggest learning strategies.
The assistant can also proactively alert you to useful information. For instance, it might let you know about local concert ticket availability or recommend new restaurants based on your past dining habits. Alexa uses data from trusted sources like Yelp, The Washington Post, Reuters, and Politico to provide reliable insights.
Smarter Smart Home Control
Music lovers will appreciate Alexa’s enhanced music discovery, which can find songs based on vague descriptions. Want to hear that “chill acoustic song with a female singer”? Alexa can figure it out.
A New Look and Feel
Alexa Plus retains all the classic smart home functionalities — controlling lights, cameras, and thermostats — but now it can take things further. You can ask Alexa to create entire routines for you, like dimming the lights, locking the doors, and playing ambient music when you say, “Goodnight.”
Amazon has redesigned the Alexa interface for Echo devices with screens. The new UI features customizable widgets that can be rearranged across multiple pages. When speaking to Alexa, a dynamic blue bar appears at the bottom, displaying animations and icons — called “Alexicons” — that express Alexa’s “personality.”
Powered by Cutting-Edge AI
Alexa Plus is model-agnostic, meaning it uses Amazon’s own Nova model alongside models from companies like Anthropic. It automatically selects the best model for the task at hand, whether that’s generating a bedtime story, creating AI art, or tracking sports stats in real time.
Amazon has also partnered with leading services like Uber Eats, Sonos, Grubhub, and Ticketmaster, enabling Alexa to handle bookings, food orders, and more — entirely through voice.
The Race for the Best AI Assistant
Amazon first teased its Alexa AI transformation in September 2023, but the journey hasn’t been smooth. Reports of internal struggles and executive shakeups — including Panos Panay’s move from Microsoft Surface to lead Amazon’s devices team — cast doubt on whether the upgrade would materialize.
Now, Alexa Plus arrives in a world crowded with AI contenders like Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Apple’s upgraded Siri. But Amazon has a unique advantage: its massive Echo device footprint. While competitors focus on software, Amazon can put an AI-powered assistant directly in people’s homes, faster and more widely than most.
With Alexa Plus, Amazon isn’t just playing catch-up — it’s aiming to lead the pack. And if the demoed features deliver in real-world use, Alexa Plus could become the gold standard for smart assistants.
The future of home AI is knocking. And its name is Alexa Plus.
