Amazon has made its upgraded Alexa+ assistant available at no extra cost to Prime members, according to an Engadget report. The generative-AI-powered assistant, built on Anthropic's large language models and Amazon's Nova suite, can be accessed through Alexa-enabled devices, the Alexa app, the web, and select Fire TV products. Prime subscribers can simply ask their device to upgrade, while non-subscribers can pay $19.99 per month for full access or use a limited free text-based version.
The company positions Alexa+ as capable of orchestrating tens of thousands of services and devices, with third-party integrations like Ticketmaster, Uber, and OpenTable. Amazon also introduced personality styles and "experts" to tailor responses. However, the Engadget article notes that early adopters have found the assistant inconsistent, with issues ranging from lag and hearing problems to conversational gains that feel overly chatty rather than transformative.
Full access is currently limited to the United States and Canada, with early access programs in several other countries. Amazon says it is working to expand availability. For Prime members, the bundled access makes Alexa+ a notable perk, but the article suggests the assistant is still going through growing pains common to AI products.