Wider Release Across Devices And Pricing
Amazon said Alexa+, its generative AI-powered upgrade to the Alexa assistant, is now available to all customers in the United States, with the company making the feature free for Prime members across supported devices.
Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo at Amazon, said tens of millions of customers are already using Alexa+ and that Prime members will now receive unlimited access at what he described as a paid-tier level included with the subscription. The company said anyone can also use Alexa+ for free through the Alexa website or mobile app, with limits in place.
For customers who do not subscribe to Prime, Amazon said standalone access will be priced at $19.99 per month, a figure the company compared to other paid AI services. Amazon said the free web and mobile experience will include restrictions intended to prevent abuse, but did not detail the exact limits.
How Alexa+ Works And What It Can Do
Announced last year, Alexa+ is designed to be model agnostic, running on a mix of Amazon’s own foundation models and systems from other companies. The approach allows the assistant to select different AI tools depending on the task.
The assistant supports natural language conversations with follow-up questions and back-and-forth exchanges. In addition to existing functions such as smart home controls, timers, news, and weather, Alexa+ can plan trips, update shared calendars, find and save recipes, recommend movies, help with homework, and explore topics.
Amazon has added integrations with services including Ticketmaster, Thumbtack, Uber, Angi, Expedia, Square, Yelp, Fodor’s, OpenTable, and Suno. These links allow the assistant to carry out tasks such as booking a restaurant table or requesting a ride. The company has not released figures on how often customers are using these more automated, task-completion features.
Beta Testing, Opt-Outs, And Product Changes
During a year-long beta period, customers were able to try Alexa+ or switch back to the previous version. Amazon said the option to revert will remain available, though it did not specify for how long. Rausch said the share of users choosing to roll back is in the low single digits.
Amazon said it made adjustments based on feedback from testers. Some users said the assistant spoke too much or interrupted at the wrong time, and others objected to the new voice. The company changed the onboarding process to explain how to switch voices and kept the original Alexa voice available as an option, now enhanced with AI-driven inflection.
The company also adjusted how the assistant decides when to respond. If the system is unsure whether it is being addressed, Alexa will now ask, “Is that for me?” Rausch said customers can also configure features such as follow-on mode, which keeps the assistant listening after it replies.
When asked whether users will be able to change the assistant’s personality in the future, Rausch said only that updates are planned.
Early Usage Signals And Engagement
Amazon said the beta showed higher usage and engagement. The company reported that music streams rose by 25% after customers upgraded to Alexa+, and that recipe-related features saw five times more activity. Overall, Amazon said customers are having two to three times more conversations with Alexa+ than with the earlier version of the assistant.
Where Alexa+ Is Available
Amazon said Alexa+ is available in the United States across Echo devices, Fire TV, Alexa.com, the Alexa mobile app, and partner hardware from companies such as Samsung and Bose, with additional devices to follow.
Featured image credits: Amazon
For more stories like it, click the +Follow button at the top of this page to follow us.