It's time to meet the new Alexa.
Amazon's Devices event, which was held earlier today, was all about Amazon's assistant. Amazon didn't release any new hardware.
This time the event focused solely on Alexa Plus, its new and improved smart assistant, now augmented by AI.
This new conversational Alexa can do more things on your behalf, including the ability to do multiple things in sequence. Here's all the highlights of the Amazon event as it happened, plus the latest updates.
Amazon Alexa Plus cheat sheet
- Alexa Plus will cost $19.99 per month, but will be free for Amazon Prime members
- Alexa Plus will be released in the coming weeks, but will only be initially available on the Echo Show 8, Echo Show 10, Echo Show 15, and Echo Show 21.
- Alexa Plus will be powered by Anthropic, and will let you use a more conversational voice to make queries.
Will Amazon charge for Alexa?
Among the other rumors surrounding the new-and-improved Alexa (codenamed “Remarkable) is that it could cost anywhere from $5 to $10 per month to use. While many AIs require a subscription to use their advanced features, it will be interesting to see if everyday consumers will pay for Alexa, given that Google, Samsung, and Apple offer their AI services for free.
Alexa on tap?
One of the biggest questions surrounding the event will be if we’ll see the new and improved Alexa that was teased in the September 2023 Amazon Devices event. At that gathering, which took place at Amazon’s Washington, DC headquarters, we saw an AI-enabled Alexa that was able to respond in a more conversational tone, answer more complex questions, and provide greater context and personalization. Initial rumors said that it was using an in-house AI, while a later report said that Alexa would be powered by Anthropic's Claude AI.
However, since that event, there’s been very little announced about Amazon’s assistant, except for the fact that it was being delayed, first to October 2024, and then even later, according to a report in November.
Meet the new boss
This Amazon Devices event will the the first hosted by Panos Panay, who took over Amazon's hardware division from Dave Limp back in 2023. Prior to Amazon, Panay worked at Microsoft, where he launched the Surface line of laptops and tablets in 2012, as well as Windows 11 in 2021. Limp has gone on to become the CEO of Blue Origin, another one of Jeff Bezos' companies.
Everything we saw at the last Amazon Devices event
At all of the Amazon Devices events I’ve attended, the company typically releases a dozen or more new products at one go, which can be a dizzying experience. Here’s everything that was announced the last go-round:
- Fire TV Soundbar ($119)
- Fire TV Stick 4K ($49 / AU$79) features a 1.7GHz processor, and supports Wi-Fi 6 and 4K Ultra HD streams
- Fire TV Stick 4K Max ($59 / AU$119) offers Wi-Fi 6e, 2GHz quad-core processor, Dolby Vision and HDR 10+ and Dolby Atmos Audio.
- eero Max 7 ($599) Wi-Fi 7 mesh router delivering speeds of up to 4.3 Gbps and wired speeds of up to 9.4 Gbps.
- Blink Sync Module 2 ($49) lets you place your Blink Outdoor 4 cameras further away for better coverage in large homes.
- Echo Hub ( $179 / AU$329): a smart home controller with an 8-inch screen for controlling smart home devices and viewing your security cameras.
- Echo Frames ($269): The latest generation of Amazon's smart glasses boast 6 hours of battery life, better audio and speech-processing technology. They also now come in seven different styles.
- Echo Show 8 ($149): The second-gen model now has an edge-to-edge display, a centered camera, and spatial audio. In addition, it can adapt it sound based on the room in which it’s placed.
- Echo Pop Kids ($49): The Echo Pop, but with either a Marvel-themed or Disney-themed face, and includes six months of Amazon Kids+.
- Fire HD 10 Kids and Fire HD 10 Kids Pro tablets ($189)
- Blink Outdoor 4 Floodlight Camera ($129): The Blink Outdoor 4, but with two large LED panels.
- Ring Stick Up Cam Pro: This comes in three configurations - the Battery and plug-in models cost $179.99, and the Solar model is $209.99.
A new Amazon Echo?
It's now been three years since the Echo Dot (5th gen) was released and four years since the 4th-gen Amazon Echo. Previously, Amazon would only wait between 2-3 years before waiting to update its flagship Alexa devices.
Sadly, Amazon discontinued the Echo Dot with Clock last year, which was one of our favorite smart speakers, and replaced it with the Echo Spot, which has a larger, more functional display, but costs $80, compared to the $50 price of the Dot with Clock.
Apart from its design going from a puck to a sphere, most changes to the Echo Dots the past few years have addressed the internals, such as adding support for eero mesh routers and compatibility with the Matter smart home standard.
However, last summer, a Wall Street Journal article reported that Amazon was losing billions on its smart speaker business, because it sold the devices at a loss, but never figured out how to monetize Alexa on the back end. So, it’s no surprise that the company has slowed down the release of new products.
Here's how polite we are to digital assistants
When it comes to talking to Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant, it looks like most of us are minding our manners. According to a new study from Future (the parent company of Tom's Guide), "more than 55% of respondents say they consistently use polite language when interacting with AI, up from 49% in the previous survey." This could be a reflection of the growing sophistication of digital assistants, or our growing comfort using them in everyday situations.
Still, a good chunk of the survey respondents (20 percent) were more brusque in their dealings, while another 13 percent said that these assistants weren't worthy of politeness.
How polite (or rude) are you to Alexa?
What we don’t expect to see
One thing we’re pretty sure that won’t be announced is a new Kindle. Amazon announced four new Kindles in October: the Kindle Scribe, the Kindle Colorsoft, the Kindle (2024), and the Kindle Paperwhite (2024). The Scribe, Amazon’s only Kindle that’s compatible with a stylus, also recently got an update that makes note-taking a lot easier. Two of these made it to our list of the best Kindles.
Considering the last time Amazon updated its Kindles was 2022, we’re confident that there won’t be any new e-readers.
Will Alexa retain skills?
Assuming the event does announce an upgraded Alexa, we wonder if the smart assistant will retain some of its skills.
Currently, Alexa skills are basically audio apps that adds to the assistant's capabilities. There are tons of skills available to Alexa right now and it can be a slog to find the best Alexa Skills.
With the push toward AI and Amazon reportedly wanting a more robust Gemini-like or agentic AI assistant will these skills be folded into the LLMs used by Alexa or will they still be separate pieces that you mod on to the platform?
At the end of the day how new will Alexa actually be is the real question? What will get added and what will disappear?
For now we don't know but we expect to hear much more tomorrow.
The Future may be announced but when will it arrive?
With tomorrow's announcement we expect to learn about the future of Alexa. But when will it arrive?
A recent report from earlier this month revealed that an AI-enhanced Alexa is likely delayed to the end of March, possibly further down the calendar.
The reason appears "“due in part to the new version of the assistant giving incorrect answers to test questions, at a recent meeting, the employee said.”
The event will go on but when we'll get to try out things announced may be some time away.
Alexa vs Google vs Siri
This year is shaping up to be a huge year in smart home voice assistants.
Alexa may get an upgrade tomorrow and while Google isn't expected to update the Nest lineup this year, its Gemini assistant is continuously being upgraded.
And then there's Apple which should make a big push into smart homes with the HomePod 3, in whatever form that takes.
We've compared the trio before but this year should take the rivalries to a new level.
Check back tomorrow for Amazon's event
Amazon's Devices event starts tomorrow, February 26, at 10 AM Eastern, 7 AM Pacific and 3 PM in the United Kingdom.
We'll be following along with the event and bringing you all of the details as Amazon reveals them tomorrow.
Good morning!
We're back and it's Alexa event day! We're looking forward to seeing what the next generation Alexa will bring to the table. Will it compete with the likes of ChatGPT advanced voice? It's all to play for.
And of course, Amazon's competitive edge here is all the home devices it can be put into. It could be the equivalent of having your very own Jarvis around the home! Check back in, as I will be pulling apart all the last minute news and leaks if they come out.
Could we see a new Amazon Echo today?
It's been a while since we last saw an Echo — four years since the 4th-gen Amazon Echo to be exact. So it's fair to say it's growing a little stale. Because sure, the audio was good for the price and the sleek spherical design made it fit in well in any living room. But audio quality has moved forward quite significantly since then.
On one side, I get it. The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was losing billions on its smart speakers, because the devices were sold at a loss and Alexa was never monetized properly. Maybe that's what this event is about? Figuring out a way to make money from Alexa by giving it all the AI smarts, so the company can move forward with new hardware?
What generative AI in Alexa could mean
Everybody's doing generative AI, but what's important is that it's not just a gimmick for the sake of being there. So what could it provide to the Alexa ecosystem? Let me get my pondering hat on and figure this out.
Natural interactions
At the moment, your smart home control is very much rudimentary — you have to remember the key phrases for each individual piece of connected home tech or build the logic paths to certain words to make multiple things happen.
With gen AI, the situation could be a lot more interesting. For example, you could talk about a feeling you want to evoke and watch your smart home adapt to suit without needing to give it specific instructions.
The ability to remember
You see this a lot with the memory updates ChatGPT makes with every prompt you make. It learns about you and helps with more questions in an increasingly tailored way to you.
If Alexa's new AI injection gets a memory, this could mean more suited reactivity to your every whim and maybe even some proactivity. For example, asking for a bedtime story for my nephew could end up creating a fun verbal adventure game for him with the voice he always likes.
Potentially agentic?
Let's think about the vastness of Amazon's ecosystem, from the massive online store to Prime Video, Prime Music and more. So what would happen if all of this is tied together with a generative AI bow?
I know a lot of companies are actively pursuing agentic AI — be it OpenAI Operator or Rabbit R1's LAM Playground. But if there's any company that is in the perfect position to make this happen, it's Amazon.
Example: say it's figured out my routine. After a busy Friday at work, I like to grab some snacks, kick back and watch The Office (yes I'm basic — don't judge me). Imagine if ahead of time, Amazon's already proactively thinking about this — playing a chillhop playlist to get me through the day and asking whether I want it to order "the usual" ahead of a relaxed night in.
Any predicted no-shows?
Kindles are one of the biggest backbones of Amazon, but don't expect them at this event.
Normally, you see the big A give these their own special event. And given that Amazon announced four new Kindles in October: the Kindle Scribe, the Kindle Colorsoft, the Kindle (2024), and the Kindle Paperwhite (2024), it's highly likely that there won't be any new e-readers.
Now if there's going to be AI updates to the Kindle...that's a different story.
It pays to be polite to your new Alexa AI
According to a new study from Future (the parent company of Tom's Guide), "more than 55% of respondents say they consistently use polite language when interacting with AI, up from 49% in the previous survey."
One thing this got me thinking about, especially with the memory collection of generative AI (and inevitably Alexa) is how it could impact its future decisions. With that in mind, I gave ChatGPT the classic trolley car test and...well... Let's just say it pays to be nice.
A rumored paid tier for Alexa AI
If Alexa goes all-in on generative AI then it wouldn't be surprising to see Amazon couple it with a paid-for subscription price. Rumors (discussed at length on the Alexa subreddit) have suggested Amazon could charge between $5 and $10 a month (around £5-£10 in the U.K.) for full access to an AI-powered Alexa.
The obvious question then becomes whether or not access to Alexa AI would be included or in addition to an Amazon Prime membership. Prime members already benefit from the obvious — like fast and free shipping, access to Prime Video and Prime Day retail events. Adding a ChatGPT-rivaling AI service to the mix could be another big reason for people to stay signed up.
Could we see new Echo Frames?
Hi, this is global editor in chief Mark Spoonauer, and I'll be your guide on our Amazon event live blog for a bit.
There's no question that the Meta Ray-Ban glasses have stole the thunder from Amazon's Echo Frames, which are now on their third generation. You may not even know that Amazon had Alexa-powered smart glasses.
In our review we liked the longer battery life and find my glasses feature, but the Echo Frames are not nearly as capable as the Meta Ray-Bans when it comes to AI features, whether it's AI vision, helping you remember things or even helping you pick out an outfit.
This could be a chance for a rebirth for the the Echo Frames with a new Alexa inside.
When will we actually get the new Alexa?
While we expect to get a ton of details today about the new Alexa and its AI capabilities, it may not actually roll out to consumers for a while.
According to a recent report from The Washington Post, the new version of Alexa was expected to release this month. But it's now ben pushed to the end of March.
This is reportedly due to Alexa giving incorrect answers to questions and possible hallucinations. In other words, Alexa has a ton of brand equity and Amazon is trying to make sure it gets the new version just right.
Here's what the new Alexa will do
Heading up to the Amazon event there's been several reports detailing the capabilities for the new Alexa.
According to Reuters, "the new Alexa AI service will be able to respond to multiple prompts in sequence and, company executives have said, even act as an 'agent' by taking actions for users without their direct involvement. That contrasts with the current iteration which generally handles only a single request at a time."
That sounds promising, but this new service could reportedly cost as much at $10 a month. Don't worry. Apparently, will be keeping "Classic Alexa" around for free.
We're here at the Amazon event!
Our U.S. editor in chief Mike Prospero is on the scene in New York City for the Amazon Alexa and devices event. There's no line yet for check in but we expect that to change quickly as we get closer to 9 am et.
Alexa + Anthropic = ?
There's been several reports that Amazon is relying on Anthropic in order to catch up in the AI race, but it's hard to say how prevalent the company will be today during the Amazon event.
Amazon invested another $4 billion in Anthropic just in November, bringing the total to $8 billion.
But with the number of delays that we've seen around the new Alexa, it's not clear how much of the "Remarkable" Alexa will use home-grown AI versus Anthropic, which is one of OpenAI's biggest rivals.
The line forms here
The line is starting to form at the Alexa event to see what Amazon is set to announce. The event gets underway at 10 am ET / 3 pm UK time, but we should be let in at 9 am ET. So we should have plenty of time to get settled to bring you a blow-by-blow of all the big Amazon event news.
All checked in
Amazon is now letting members of the media check in before the Alexa event. Mike Prospero has his badge and says they're just hanging out for now. Stay tuned for all the big news.
Waiting for the new Alexa
Right now Amazon has members of the press gathered in a lobby before we take our seats. In the meantime, here's our way of saying hello and welcome to our Amazon event live blog.
How much do we trust AI — or not?
A new survey of over 1,000 Americans from the email and SMS marketing firm Omnisend reveals that we're not super trusting in AI yet, especially when it comes to shopping.
We'll have to see if the new Amazon Alexa can overcome this obstacle.
- 66% of consumers refuse to let AI make purchases on their behalf, even if they would get a better deal.
- 58% worry about how AI handles their personal data, reflecting significant privacy concerns.
- 42% view current AI as more of an upselling tool than a genuine shopping assistant, citing targeted ads as the main drawback.
- 39% have abandoned purchases due to frustrating AI interactions, such as inaccurate recommendations or poor chatbot experiences.
- 48% believe AI should prioritize improving customer service rather than making automated purchase decisions.
About to go in
We're just waiting now to be seated but in the meantime if you look closely you can make out our colleagues from TechRadar — Lance Ulanoff and Jacob Krol — as well as Avi Greengart, one of the smartest analysts out there.
We're in!
Our own Mike Prospero and John Velasco are inside the Amazon devices event and we should be getting started very soon.
No pressure, Amazon. You just need to prove that Alexa is still viable in an AI-centric world more than a decade after the initial launch of your assistant.
A new Echo show?!
The event hasn't started yet but we're already seeing what looks like new hardware at the Amazon devices event.
This Echo Show in particular has a new interface, even if the device itself is not new. And Amazon is showing off a TV and soundbar as well.
The room where it will happen
Media are filling up the room, which looks to hold around 100 or so people. There's a big stage up at the front, which is flanked by three Echo Show 21 displays on one side, and an Echo Show 21, a TV, and a Fire TV soundbar on the other.
As mentioned in the previous post, the Echo Show has a completely different interface than what's on current models - this one looks a lot more sophisticated, and it looks like it can be configured to your liking.
The challenge with adapting Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant for the AI era
The challenge with incorporating AI into Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant is that these digital assistants have a completely different architecture. When they were originally designed, they were coded to listen for specific words and phrases, and then to respond to them with a specific set of actions. As these assistants became more complex, more and more lines of code had to be added. (Here’s Amazon’s explainer on how a voice request works).
So, adding something along the lines of ChatGPT isn’t simply a matter of plugging an AI into what’s existing; the entire assistant needs to be rebuilt to allow for more natural language inputs, while maintaining everything that it can already do. What's the use of a smarter assistant if it can't turn your lights on reliably?
Amazon isn’t the only one struggling to update its assistant; Apple too, has had its challenges with Siri 2.0, with it running into numerous bugs.
Will Alexa 2.0 work on every Echo?
One rumor that's popped up in recent days is that the new and improved Alexa might not work on every Echo device, especially the older models. If that's the case, then those with first- or second-generation Amazon Echos might have to upgrade their otherwise perfectly functional smart speakers for one that will work with the smarter Alexa.
Andy Jassy kicks things off
And here we go! Andy Jassy, the president and CEO of Amazon, takes the stage and immediately dives into AI. "We have been using AI at the company for 25 years...we use it to solve real customer problems."
However, he says, things really changed recently with generative AI and foundation models.
Amazon's AI investments
I'm not sure there's a company with a larger AI investment than Amazon. Jassy talks about the three layers of AI at the company
Bottom layer - People who build models from scratch are pining for better price performance. Which is why we've built our own silicon. 30-40% better. Sagemaker AI, for example, to build, train and deploy machine learning.
Middle laker - Amazon Bedrock - works with multiple AIs to smooth things out and get things working together. Jassy mentions Amazon Nova,
Top layer - For the generative AI applications that are being built by third companies. This targets two things - cost avoidance and customer experience. Jassy mentions Amazon's chatbot, as well as a way for sellers on Amazon to more easily fill out product information,.
Customer Review Highlights
AI is being used to summarize customer reviews on Amazon, so you know what customers think rather than having to read through hundreds of reviews.
This also looks at things like how well a shirt fits, and which brands run large or small, so shoppers can know if they should buy something in a smaller or larger size.
Panos takes the stage
Panos Panay now takes the stage to talk about AI and Alexa, and how he was blown away the first time he used the original Alexa. "It was seamless and it just worked."
Millions of new customers every month
Alexa has millions of new customers every month, says Panos, but it's important to know what they love and don't like about it. Next we get a little reel of "customers" using Alexa.
Yet, he says, there are plenty of times when it doesn't work. Until this moment we've been limited by its technology.
Where AI chatbots fail
Most of the time, AIs can't help you complete the tasks you want, says Panay. "It won't order your groceries."
An AI chatbot on its own doesn't get to where we want Alexa to be. It needs to connect to things and actually take action. Panay compares it to an orchestra - on their own, each individual instrument works, but it takes a conductor to bring it all together.
How the new Alexa works
Another reel showing how the new Alexa will work - Booking reservations, letting you know when tickets for your favorite artist go on sale, creating morning routines using your smart home devices, and more.
It's called Alexa+ (of course)
Meet Alexa+
She can plan a date, but also book the restaurant but also call the babysitter. She can book a trip and send it to everyone's calendar. Remembers your favorite food, movies, music. She'll know all your smart home devices and program them for you.
Now Panay is about to demo Alexa+
Alexa+ demo begins
Everything is fully live, says Panay. He then starts chatting with Alexa+ and asks a very long question, and asks what could go wrong. "let's just say Murphy's Law is probably sharpening his pencil right now," Alexa responds.
Contextual awareness
Now Panay turns the Echo Show's camera to the audience and lets her look at us. "Looks like you have a room full of tech enthusiasts ready to be wowed."
The pizza test
Panay is asking really long questions of Alexa. It's like a real conversation. He rambles for a little before asking Alexa about pizza places near where we are. After she gives some recommendations, he then tells her that his son says that Joe's pizza is the best. She responds, saying yes, it's a popular place with celebrities.
From here, you can then make reservations via Alexa, either to go to the restaurant or to order takeout.
Introducing Alexicons
The blue Alexa bar is changing. Now, "Alexicons" - small icons at the bottom of the screen ,will change based on Alexa's reaction, such as a smile of a heart.
New smart home interface
As I thought, there's a new smart home interface to make using your devices a lot easier. But aside from a configurable panel, you can also use Alexa to make smart home routines more easily.
Better audio control
There's a bunch of Echo Studio devices set up around the room. Panay starts playing Lady Gaga's "Shallow Ground," and then tells Alexa to play the music on the left, and on the right, and she automatically changes which Echo Studios are playing the song.
He then says "move the music to the TV," and it automatically switches to the Fire TV.
Smarter smart TV
Panay then says "Can you just jump to the scene in the movie?" and Alexa then automatically brings up the movie on the TV to where the song is playing. That's pretty neat.
Security camera smarts
"Amazon, what happened around my house today?" Panay is introducing Moments with Alexa and Ring, which shows you the highlights of what happened around your house using Ring's security cameras.
He then asks if anyone has walked his dog, and Alexa digs up footage of Panay's husky Ares being walked around - including the dog hopping into an Amazon delivery truck, and the driver giving him a treat. It's a very cute dog.
Alexa+ experience
Panay leaves the stage, and Mara Segal, the director of AI comes up.
Now, Segal says, you can share everything from school schedules to recipes to emails with Alexa, and she'll summarize it for you and give you guidance. Here are some examples:
"From the HOA documents, am I able to add solar panels?"
"According to the HOA documents, you can add panels, as long as they're not visible from the front."
"Grandma's zucchini bread recipe - how much oil do I need?"
"Any interesting South by Southwest AI events?"
Managing schedules
Sagal does another demo for her daughter Olivia's soccer practice - Alexa added all of the practices to her calendar, let her know if she needed to bring snacks to the next practice, and to get a reminder the night before.
Alexa+ for kids
Amazon is announcing two new Alexa+ features, aimed at kids.
Explore with Alexa: Kids can ask Alexa all sorts of questions about geography, biology, and more, and she'll respond in a conversational tone.
Stories with Alexa: Kids can ask Alexa to make up stories for them. One example is "Alexa, create a story about a bearded dragon that plays a saxophone." Alexa will then ask additional questions to the kid to help fill out the story.
Take me out to the ballgame
As reported earlier, Anthropic is being used as a base for Alexa+. Amazon is also working with dozens of news and sports outlets for the latest news and information, so that you can ask all sorts of things about current events.
The current presenter, Daniel Rausch, a Red Sox fan, asks about the Sox's latest additions to the lineup, and how well they're expected to perform this season. He then asks when the Red Sox are playing the Yankees, and then asks if she can find tickets to the first game.
Next, he asks Alexa to watch for lower ticket prices for the game, to see if they fall below $200.
Alexa+ Experts
Aside from baseball trivia, Alexa will work with tens of thousands of other partners and developers, who will be connected in a few ways.
They can be integrated directly through APIs, so for example, when you want to book a dinner reservation, it will connect you directly with OpenTable. Next, you can send an Uber to pick up someone from the airport and bring them to the restaurant. Alexa gave us the estimated cost, as well as updates on when it was coming, and then also sent a text message to the person to let them know an Uber was on its way.
Alexa+ AI agents
If a partner doesn't have externalized APIs, Alexa+ will be able to navigate a partner's website to complete a task. Rausch shows how this would work in a kitchen emergency.
"Alexa, my Miele oven isn't working. Can you get someone out to the house?" Alexa then returned a bunch of appliance repair services, and then after he picked one, Alexa then contacted them via the Thumbtack website.
Alexa, write me a song.
The third way that Alexa+ will interact with third parties is through a new framework that will let it work with other AI agents. Rausch brought up the partnership with Suno, and asked Alexa to create a reluctant love song about Russell, the bodega cat, in a country style.
We've used Suno AI before, and it's pretty fun
Ordering groceries
One more demo: "Alexa, I need some things from Amazon Fresh."
Rather than just listing ingredients, Rausch says things like "I need everything for banana bread except for the spices," and just keeps adding and changing things, with plenty of pauses in between. For example, he changes a gallon of milk to two gallons, and adds more eggs to the list.
Halfway through, he mentions there's a kid coming over for dinner, asks for a recipe, and then adds those ingredients to the list. It's a whole stream-of-consciousness that just works.
Everything Alexa+ can do - and how much it costs, and when you can use it
Panos Panay returns to wrap things up, and goes over everything that Alexa+ can do. There's now Alexa.com, as well as a new smartphone app.
$19.99 per month, but free if you're a Prime member.
Early access will roll out next month. It will work in almost every Echo device that exists (we'll have to find out which ones later).
We're off to try out Alexa+, so stay tuned!
Device compatibility
Device compatibility was a lingering question during Amazon's event. Thankfully, the company detailed which of its devices will support Alexa+.
Amazon says Alexa+ will start rolling out in the U.S. in the next few weeks and subsequently in waves in the coming months. It will start with households with Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21. If you have an older Echo machine, you'll unfortunately have to upgrade to take advantage of Alexa+.
Will Amazon Prime cost more?
Amazon announced that Alexa+ will cost $19.99 per month but will be free for Prime members. However, that begs the question: will that affect the price of Amazon Prime?
We can't say for sure at this moment. But given the increasing price of Prime, some customers might not appreciate a price hike—especially if it's due to a service they might not use. Hopefully, Amazon won't surprise Prime users with a bumped-up price, but we'll have to wait and see.
How does Alexa Plus work?
Daniel Rausch, vice president for Alexa and Echo, briefly detailed how Alexa Plus works.
As posted in Amazon's Alexa+ live blog, Alexa+ will "work behind the scenes to seamlessly coordinate multiple services—from making a dinner reservation for two via OpenTable to booking an Uber for your friend to meet you at lunch and texting them your plans.
"Alexa+ also features cutting-edge agentic capabilities to complete tasks on your behalf. Daniel highlighted an example that involved getting recommendations for a home maintenance provider who can fix an oven, contacting them to book a repair for you, and sending the request to the provider via Thumbtack to complete the service appointment booking behind the scenes.
"Talking about a future full of agents with specialized skills and interoperability between agents, Daniel showed Alexa+’s integration with Suno where you can turn simple, creative requests into complete songs, including vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation. He announced a preview of the new Alexa AI Multi-Agent SDK that will let brands showcase their agent alongside Alexa.
"Lastly, Daniel showed a glimpse of a future capability that will enable customers conversationally create and edit grocery lists on the fly, revise a list based on dietary preferences, and add ingredients to an Amazon Fresh order. The experience will also integrate with Whole Foods and partners like Grubhub."
Alexa Plus natural conversation demo
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
Here is a live demo of Alexa Plus' natural conversation abilities applied to one of the most universal user features: hands-free music playback.
Instead of having to list off speaker groups or names, Alexa+ powered by generative AI can make adjustments based on much broader cues and context.
Alexa Plus helps in the kitchen
The Amazon Alexa+ kitchen demo we experienced at the Amazon event showed how you can give Alexa the dietary restrictions for a number of guests and have it provide you with recipe suggestions.
Then, it can set food preparation reminders so you know when to start cooking various things to have everything ready at the same time. It can also send all the ingredients to your shopping list and suggest substitutions for things you don’t have
Amazon announces Alexa Plus pricing
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
Alexa+, the new generative AI assistant experience via Echo Show smart displays, will start rolling out to users in the coming weeks.
Prime members will get Alexa+ for free, while non-Prime members can pay $19.99 per month to access the upgrades.
Alexa Plus smart home integration
Integrating with Ring security systems, Alexa Plus can provide summaries of detected events and display relevant footage on compatible Echo Show devices. This feature offers users an overview of daily activities, such as package deliveries or visits from service providers.
The integration with Ring’s Smart Video Search allows users to query specific events, like "Did someone take out the garbage bins?" or "When was the last time the dog went out for a walk?" enhancing home monitoring and security.
Alexa Plus is also a lot smarter than its current iteration. For example, if you have a smart light you call “sofa light,” you could say Alexa, turn off the light in the sitting area, and it’s smart enough to guess that you mean the sofa light. You can also ask Alexa her favorite light colors and have her cycle your smart lights through those colors and tell her to change the speed of how quickly it does that.
Sports talk with Alexa Plus
@tomsguide ♬ original sound - Tom’s Guide
The NEW Amazon Alexa+ generative AI assistant experience can carry out natural conversations on popular topics such as sports.
In this demo, Alexa+ can continue a conversation with follow-up prompts and even make some predictions, like how the Red Sox will fare in the 2025 season based on the team’s off-season acquisitions.
Alexa+ for entertainment
With Alexa+, users can now establish complex routines through simple voice commands, eliminating the need for manual setup via the app. This feature allows for personalized automation, enabling Alexa+ to assist seamlessly throughout the day.
Alexa+ offers improved music discovery capabilities. Users can search for songs with minimal information, such as recalling a tune from a TV show's credits without knowing the artist or title. Additionally, Alexa+ can suggest new music within preferred genres and facilitate seamless music transitions between rooms. Commands like "play the music upstairs" or "play the music everywhere, but don’t wake the baby" allow for dynamic control over multi-room audio setups.
The assistant's capabilities extend to media playback, particularly with Prime Video. Users can request specific scenes by describing details such as the actor, character, or a quote. For example, saying, "What’s that movie where Bradley Cooper sings a duet? Jump to that scene…" prompts Alexa Plus to locate and play the desired segment on Fire TV devices.
Alexa Plus is for the whole family
Alexa Plus isn’t just for adults, and at its unveiling, Amazon showed off two new features for Amazon Kids+ subscribers that should make learning a bit more fun.
With Explore with Alexa, kids can ask Alexa Plus all sorts of questions about geography, biology, and more, and she’ll respond in a conversational tone. While this will be a great help with homework, it can also help satisfy your child’s curiosity so that you don’t have to field all of the questions they come up with.
If your kids are tired of the same old books, by using Stories with Alexa, they can have Amazon’s virtual assistant make up new ones for them. This starts with a prompt like “Alexa, create a story about a bearded dragon that plays the saxophone.” From there, Alexa will ask them additional questions to flesh out their story further.
Like the rest of these new Alexa Plus features, these two will be available on Amazon’s larger smart displays. As of now, it doesn’t look like the Echo Show 5 Kids will work with the company’s improved virtual assistant, but that could change in the future, or we might potentially see a Kids edition of the more powerful Echo Show 8 in the future.
Alexa Plus in your kitchen
One of the best things about having a large smart display like the Echo Show 15 or Echo Show 21 in your kitchen is that everyone can see important info at a glance while getting ready for the day.
With Alexa Plus, you’ll be able to share documents like emails, recipes, and more with Amazon’s virtual assistant, and it can extract and remember relevant information from them. This info is used to provide you with helpful summaries, but it can also be used to add events to your calendar based on specific requests.
One of the coolest Alexa Plus features for busy families is that you can forward emails from your child’s school, and then it will break down all of the essential information for you. For example, if there’s an upcoming school event, you’ll be able to ask if you need to bring anything beforehand.
Experts and agents at the ready
Just like with the best Alexa skills, integrations can add even more functionality to Alexa Plus, and Amazon plans to work with tens of thousands of partners and developers to make this happen.
By using Experts and deep knowledge integration, Alexa Plus will be able to work behind the scenes to seamlessly coordinate multiple services for you, and these integrations are done directly through APIs. One example Amazon provided at its event was having Alexa Plus make a dinner reservation for two using OpenTable, texting these plans to a friend, and then being able to book an Uber for them so that they can meet you for lunch.
That’s not all, though, as Alexa+ can use its AI agent capabilities to do things on your behalf. For instance, if you need a recommendation for a repair person, Alexa Plus will be able to find one for you, send a request to them, and then book a service appointment for them to come to your home to take a look at a broken appliance.
AI agents can also help you create new things, and Alexa Plus already has an integration with the AI music generator, Suno. At its event, Amazon showed off a demo where Suno was used to turn a simple, creative request into a complete song, complete with lyrics, vocals, and instruments. Capabilities like this will continue to expand, as Amazon showed off a preview of its new Alexa I Multi-Agent SDK that will allow brands to showcase their agents alongside Alexa.
Here are the 7 biggest Amazon event announcements you missed.
Transform your existing devices
Alexa Plus has a ton of new features you can try on any compatible Echo Show device.
For instance, you can create new Alexa Routines for your smart home using just your voice. This was previously only possible from within the Alexa app but now, you can use your voice to set up complex Routines right from one of the best smart displays which should save you a lot of time.
Chatting with Alexa will be more natural too, and with Alexa Plus, you can easily get new music and movie recommendations just by asking. The same goes for when you have music playing in one room and want to move the tunes to a different part of your home. If you have a favorite scene in a movie that’s on Prime Video, you will also be able to jump directly to a specific scene by asking Alexa Plus.
For those with one of the best video doorbells or best home security cameras from Ring, Alexa Plus will make it easier to know what’s going on in your smart home by providing you with a detailed summary of events detected by your cameras.
For instance, you can see that a package was delivered and that the dog walker took your pet outside right when you step into your home through the highlights from that day. This feature will also integrate with Ring’s Smart Video Search functionality and you can ask specific questions about whether or not someone took out the trash or when was the last time the dog went out for a walk.
The Echo devices that will — and won't — work with Alexa Plus
One of the nice things about most of Amazon's smart speakers is that even the earliest models still work pretty well. Unfortunately, due to the requirements of Alexa Plus, some of the oldest Echo devices will not be able to run the new smart assistant.
When Alexa Plus rolls out, these are the devices it will initially run on:
Additionally, Alexa Plus will be available via a web browser, the Alexa app, and compatible Fire TVs and Fire tablets.
Representatives told me that Alexa Plus was designed to use both voice and visuals, so they have to figure out how to deliver a voice-only experience, but eventually it will come to these smart speakers:
- Echo (second gen and later)
- Echo Dot (and Echo Dot Kids) second-gen and later
- Echo Pop
- Echo Spot (second gen)
- Echo Show 5 (and Echo Show 5 Kids)
- Echo Hub
- Echo Studio
- Echo Auto
- Echo Buds
Here are the devices that Alexa Plus won't work on - but you'll still be able to use the original Alexa:
- Echo Dot (1st Gen)
- Echo (1st Gen)
- Echo Plus (1st Gen)
- Echo Tap
- Echo Show (1st and 2nd Gen)
- Echo Spot (1st Gen)
An Amazon representative said that Alexa Plus is not currently supported on Alexa Built-in devices (like the Sonos Era 100 and Ecobee Smart Thermostat) and Amazon Astro, but that the company is looking to expand Alexa Plus to those devices in the future.
Alexa Plus cheat sheet
If you're a bit confused about what Alexa Plus is and what it can do, we have a summary of the 7 biggest announcements today from the Amazon event.
The most promising news is that you won't have to pay extra for Alexa Plus if you're already an Amazon Prime subscriber. And the most frustrating news is that you'll need a recent model Echo Show device to take advantage of the new AI features.
Alexa Plus service integrations
We've mentioned OpenTable a few times today, but Amazon announced that Alexa Plus "seamlessly integrates with tens of thousands of services" like OpenTable.
A partial list includes:
- GrubHub
- OpenTable
- Ticketmaster
- Yelp,
- Thumbtack
- Vagaro
- Fodor’s
- TripAdvisor
- Amazon
- Whole Foods Market
- Uber
- Spotify
- Apple Music
- Pandora
- Netflix
- Disney+
- Hulu
- Max
You can use Alexa Plus generative AI to interact with the various services like getting OpenTable to set a reservation at a restaurant.
What's next?
Alexa Plus won't be available immediately. Amazon spokepeople told Tom's Guide that the new generative AI assistant experience will start rolling out to US users in the coming weeks.
We know which devices will support the rollout, but not exactly when we'll get to access it.
As Alexa Plus becomes available Tom's Guide will put the latest AI assistant through its paces to see how it compares to Alexa 1.0 and current assistants like Google's Gemini, OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Apple's upgraded Siri, whenever that arrives.
