Rahul Somvanshi
Amazon has introduced Alexa+, a major overhaul of its voice assistant powered by generative artificial intelligence. The upgraded service will cost $19.99 per month but will be available free to Amazon Prime members when it begins rolling out in the coming weeks.
First released in 2014, Alexa has struggled to achieve profitability despite being installed in over 600 million devices worldwide. The new Alexa+ represents Amazon’s response to the growing competitive pressure from AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which have made traditional voice assistants appear increasingly outdated.
“Every once in a while, a technology comes around and it changes everything,” said Panos Panay, Amazon’s Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, during the New York launch event. “Large language models enter the stage and fundamentally change the way we think about AI.”
New Capabilities and Features
Alexa+ is built on large language models (LLMs) available through Amazon Bedrock, including Amazon’s own Nova models and those from AI startup Anthropic, in which Amazon has invested billions.
Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s Vice President of Alexa and Fire TV, explained that developing Alexa+ required a “complete re-architecture” of the assistant. “It is not as easy as taking an LLM and jacking it into the original Alexa,” Rausch said during the event.
The upgraded assistant introduces “agentic capabilities,” allowing it to navigate the internet independently to complete tasks. For example, if a user needs oven repair, Alexa+ can search the web, find a service provider through Thumbtack, arrange the repair, and report back when finished—all without user supervision.
Alexa+ is designed to remember user preferences, such as dietary restrictions and favorite activities, to provide personalized recommendations. The system can recall that a user loves pizza while their daughter is vegetarian and their partner requires gluten-free options, then suggest appropriate recipes or restaurants.
Availability and Integration
The rollout of Alexa+ will begin in the U.S. in the coming weeks with an early access period, prioritizing owners of Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices. According to Ann Wessing, Amazon’s Worldwide General Manager for Alexa and Echo, the “best Alexa+ experience” will be on touch screen Echo devices.
Alexa+ will work on “almost every” existing Alexa device, according to Panay, although all demonstrations at the launch event were performed on Echo Show devices with screens.
Beyond home devices, users will be able to access Alexa+ through a new mobile app (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play store) and a browser-based experience at Alexa.com. Amazon emphasizes that conversations can transition seamlessly between devices—starting on an Echo, continuing on a smartphone, and finishing on a computer.
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Financial Implications
The introduction of a subscription fee represents a significant shift in Amazon’s approach to Alexa. Industry analysts suggest this could help offset the high costs of AI development and potentially make the digital assistant profitable after years of losses.
“You look at any generative AI system out there, and they all have very high development costs,” said Jitesh Ubrani, a research manager at IDC.
According to a Wall Street Journal report from July, Amazon has lost tens of billions of dollars on its devices business, which includes Echo, Kindle, and Fire TV products. The devices and services division has undergone two rounds of layoffs as part of broader company cuts in 2022 and 2023.
Amazon’s AI Investment
During the event, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy highlighted the company’s commitment to artificial intelligence, stating that Amazon has built or is building 1,000 generative AI applications.
“I’m not sure there’s a company in the world that has a larger investment top to bottom in AI,” Jassy said. He also promoted Amazon’s Trainium 2 AI chip, claiming it offers 30-40% better price performance than competing chips from companies like Nvidia.
Privacy and Security
Amazon states that Alexa+ is built with privacy and security as priorities. The company has centralized important information such as user interactions and settings in the Alexa Privacy dashboard, allowing customers to control what information Alexa+ remembers and how it is used.
According to Amazon, Alexa+ is built on the secure infrastructure of AWS, bringing “world-class privacy and security protection” to everyday interactions.
Competitive Landscape
Whether Alexa+ succeeds will depend on how well it works in real-world settings and if customers are willing to give it another chance. According to Forrester Research, most consumers currently use digital assistants for simple tasks like checking the weather or playing music.
“This strategy failed and the company invested $25 billion in its Alexa division without truly revolutionizing smart homes,” noted Thomas Husson, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, ahead of Amazon’s announcement.
The launch of Alexa+ puts Amazon in direct competition with other AI assistants and chatbots, including Google’s Gemini and Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, which offers a premium subscription for $20 per month.
FAQs About Amazon’s Alexa+
