Amazon has announced Alexa+, its brand new AI assistant and a direct answer to Google Gemini for your smartphone, smart home, or car.
Every big tech company worth its salt is getting involved with AI, but Amazon could be the next major player to follow in the footsteps of ChatGPT, DeepSeek and Google Gemini.
Here’s everything you need to know about Amazon Alexa+, the company’s major overhaul to its ubiquitous personal assistant.
What is Alexa+?
Alexa+ is a new generation of Amazon’s widely used personal assistant, this time bolstered by AI and powered by large language models (LLMs).
At a basic level, it promises to be more conversational than classic Alexa, understanding and employing more natural language, with context-sensitive responses and a distinct personality.
Amazon describes Alexa+ as being “proactive”. For example, it will be able to, when directed, head onto the web, find an oven repairer, and book a repair slot, all with no intervention from you.
It’s also smarter than old Alexa, with more personalised results, and has the ability to get better the more you use it.
For example, when you ask it to plan a family meal at home or a restaurant, it will “remember that you love pizza, your daughter is vegetarian, and your partner is gluten-free” and make its recommendations accordingly.
But I like Alexa just the way it is
Don’t worry, Amazon promises that Alexa+ will still be able to do all of the things it currently does – only better.
You’ll still be able to issue simple commands for playing music playlists and streaming movies.
However, you’ll also be able to hold full-blown conversations about the artists involved, jump to specific movie scenes, and more.
Amazon
Will Alexa+ work with other services?
Amazon claims that Alexa+ will work seamlessly with “tens of thousands of services”. These include:
GrubHub, OpenTable, Ticketmaster, Yelp, Thumbtack, Vagaro, Fodor’s, TripAdvisor, Amazon, Whole Foods Market, Uber, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Max.
What about the smart home?
Alexa+ should also work with smart home devices from Philips Hue, Roborock, Lutron, and more.
Amazon claims that Alexa+ will let you control multiple smart devices with a single request, as well as allowing you to create Alexa Routines using simple vocal commands.
Thanks to its added intelligence and contextual awareness, you’ll be able to say “I’m cold” and Alexa+ will use your smart thermostat to increase the temperature in your home.
How secure is Alexa+?
Amazon claims that Alexa+ will be backed up by “world-class privacy and security” built on Amazon’s secure AWS infrastructure.
It also reveals that it will centralise important information concerning your interactions with Alexa+, all funnelled through the Alexa Privacy dashboard.
When can I access Alexa+?
Alexa+ will be available over the next few weeks to English-speaking customers in the U.S during an early access period.
Amazon says that it’s going to prioritise Echo Show 8, 10-, 15-, and 21 device owners, but you can sign up here to put your name down for early access.
Amazon hasn’t provided any details on wider availability, other than to say that access will subsequently widen out “in waves over the coming months”.
Amazon
How can I access Alexa+?
There’ll be a new Alexa+ app available in the Apple App Store and Google Play store.
It’ll also be available to access through a new browser-based experience at Alexa.com.
Alexa+ will be able to continue conversations from one device and location to the next, whether you’re on your phone, in your car, at the office with your laptop, or at home with your Echo speaker or Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet.
How much does Alexa+ cost?
Alexa+ will be free to access for Prime subscribers, which could be a huge incentive to choose this over Gemini.
If you’re not a Prime member, things get a little (OK, a lot) more expensive. You’ll have to stump up $19.99 per month to use Amazon’s new AI assistant.
This makes little sense considering Prime is $14.99 per month or $179.88 per year.
Read the full article here
