After over a year of waiting, Amazon has finally taken the wraps of its all-new – and much smarter – Alexa personal assistant. This clever upgrade was first announced all the way back in 2023 at an event in Washington DC, but since that initial demo, there’s been no more word on a launch or release to the millions that use this service every day. That’s all just changed with Amazon revealing more about the all-new Alexa at a launch event in New York. It’s called Alexa+ and it’s very impressive.
This is one of the biggest ever changes to this chatty assistant and it will make taking to get feel far more like a real person rather than a robot. During its latest demos, Amazon’s Panos Panay showed how Alexa will understand what you are asking for even if you chat away and don’t bark a direct command at it. At one point during the live showcase, he chatted away, saying he was in New York and wanted something to eat nearby – Alexa then offered up a bunch of restaurants and even announced which she thought was best. The whole point of Alexa+ is that she learns more about your interests, personal preferences and even what food you do and don’t like.
That means when you ask for film ideas, recipes or sports updates, you’ll only hear about the things you actually like.
Along with those all-important requests, she will help you build routines for your home without needing to dig into endless settings plus there are easy ways to control your whole home speaker set-up. That then means you can seamlessly move your music around your home just by saying “play the music upstairs” or “play the music everywhere, but don’t wake the baby” and Alexa+ will know you mean to play on all speakers except those in the nursery.
Another neat feature is being able to check to see footage from your Ring cameras. You can simply ask Alexa+ if the dog has been taken for a walk or a package delivered and she’ll search through all the footage she has and show it on the screen.
Another very smart function is hearing a song from a movie and asking Alexa to find the exact scene and play from that moment on your Fire TV Stick.
She can also now check your emails, book restaurants, find you an Uber and so much more.
New animations also make the whole experience feel far more interactive. It’s supremely clever and only going to get better but it does come at a price. Amazon says Alexa+ will cost $19.99 when it launches in the US next month. However, if you have Prime it will be free. We’re still waiting for news on a UK launch.
“While the vision of Alexa has been ambitious and incredibly compelling, right until this moment, we have been limited by technology,” Panos said.
“Introducing Alexa+, our next generation assistant, powered by generative AI. Alexa+ helps you stay organized during busy days, provides detailed answers tailored to your needs, and handles everything from project planning to solving daily challenges—all through natural conversation.”
It’s been confirmed that Alexa+ will start rolling out in the U.S. in the next few weeks, and subsequently in waves in the coming months starting with households with Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21.
