Amazon has officially introduced Alexa+, its next-generation AI-powered virtual assistant, marking a major leap in its smart assistant technology. The announcement, first teased during the Devices and Services event in 2023, confirmed that Alexa+ will incorporate generative AI, enabling more natural conversations, multi-turn interactions, and content generation beyond standard responses.
During the launch, Panos Panay compared Alexa’s journey toward generative AI to a symphony warming up before a concert, where the conductor eventually “raises the baton to transform disconnected sounds into a masterpiece.”
What’s New with Alexa+?
The upgraded Alexa+ will feature:
- More natural responses with improved cadence and expressiveness.
- Contextual awareness, allowing it to remember past interactions for seamless conversations.
- Document processing capabilities, enabling it to read and extract information from files such as school calendars or HOA CC&R documents to answer user queries.
- Advanced personalization, learning and adapting to user preferences “the rhythm of your life,” as described by Panay.
Additionally, Amazon confirmed that not all Echo devices will support Alexa+ immediately, with a phased rollout planned.
Alexa+ Launch Timeline
Alexa+ is set to launch next month in an early access format, followed by a broader rollout. While Amazon initially remained quiet about Alexa+ after its 2023 reveal, reports suggested repeated delays due to performance issues. However, the company now appears to have resolved these challenges, bringing Alexa 2.0 to life.
Although Alexa remains the most popular virtual assistant in the U.S., preferred by two-thirds of Americans, it has recently fallen behind competitors such as Google Assistant, Siri, and ChatGPT-powered AI assistants. The arrival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in recent years transformed the AI landscape, making Alexa appear outdated—“until now.”
Alexa+ Subscription Pricing
Unlike its predecessor, Alexa+ will operate under a subscription model, costing $20 per month, though Amazon Prime members will get it for free. While a paid tier had been rumored for over a year, initial reports suggested a price between $5 and $10 per month, making the final $20 price point unexpected. This places Alexa+ on par with a ChatGPT Plus subscription.
For those unwilling to pay, Amazon will continue offering the “Classic Alexa” experience, though it remains unclear how long the current version will be maintained.
With competitors like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, and Apple’s Siri LLM models gaining ground, the real test will be how well Alexa+ performs in everyday use. Powered by Amazon Bedrock models, including Nova and Anthropic, Alexa+ is now stepping into the generative AI race, and only time will tell if it can reclaim its dominance.