Alexa+ is out of early access and available to all Prime members for free. I used Amazon’s enhanced AI in early access and found it to be pretty capable, especially on a few key tasks.<\/b>
\nIf you’re sick of robotic AI assistants, Alexa+ promises to provide more human-like interactions. We’ll have to see how that pans out, but Amazon just removed the „early access“ tags from Alexa+ and launched it for everyone, so there will soon be plenty more testers. I’ve been testing it for months and found it to be very capable. Here’s what it can do for you, and whether it’s worth investing in an Amazon smart home device to try it out.How to Get Alexa+
Alexa+ is free to Prime members and $19.99 per month for everyone else. If you buy one of Amazon’s latest Echo devices (Echo Dot Max, Echo Studio, Echo Show 8, or Echo Show 11), you get access to Alexa+ right out of the box. On older devices, you might have received a notification that Amazon automatically upgraded you to Alexa+. Otherwise, visit the Alexa+ store page, ask your Echo device to activate Alexa+, or type „set up Alexa+“ in the Alexa app.
When it’s activated, Alexa+ will then take you through an introductory process to learn about your preferences and create a profile. You’ll also be able to personalize Alexa+, including choosing one of its four masculine or four feminine voices.
Not loving Alexa+? Amazon’s Memberships & Subscriptions page still has an End Early Access button, though it’s unclear how long that will last.What Alexa+ Can Do For You
Alexa’s glow-up is more than just marketing. In my testing, I’ve found that it really has become a more capable service. This is all part of what Amazon is calling its „ambient AI“ push. The idea is that Amazon wants its services, devices, and AI model to be accessible wherever you are, as long as you’re within range of one of its smart speakers or displays, or your mobile device.
While I was initially skeptical of this „upgrade“, I must admit that I’ve found it genuinely useful to have easy access to AI. Amazon has largely delivered on the promise of a smarter, more conversational assistant. It’s not so much that Alexa+ is adding revolutionary new features that other AI models don’t offer, but rather that it’s combining a multitude of functions in a ubiquitous service that’s incorporated into a variety of devices I already own.1. Better Querying
The main role Alexa+ plays in my life is informational. I have an Echo Dot on my desk that I’m constantly querying while working, writing, or watching movies and TV. Even my previous-generation Dot seems better at picking up my voice than Google or Apple’s phone-based smart assistants, and it’s a lot easier to ask AI a question with my voice rather than interrupt my workflow by opening a new tab and punching a question into ChatGPT or Gemini. Alexa+ is also more responsive and better at maintaining a conversational flow of questions, commands, and answers than Siri or other assistants. 2. Contextual Reminders
It’s also great at alarms and reminders. Beyond the standard notifications you can program in for a specific time and date, Alexa+ can provide recurring notifications. For instance, to ensure I didn’t forget to watch last year’s Ryder Cup, I told Alexa to set a recurring notification to be broadcast from the Echo Dot on my desk every two hours, and to stop notifying me only after I’d acknowledged the message. You can leverage AI to set context-specific reminders („remind me every time there’s an upcoming Buffalo Bills game“), or import reminders from your existing calendar. You can even have Alexa+ help you build new reminders based on emails, and it can generate a color-coded calendar of its own to help manage your family’s activities.3. Playlist Creation
Alexa+ can also provide a soothing (or inspiring) background to your workday. You can ask it to help create a playlist for you by providing the titles of specific songs or artists, or even get some AI assistance in building a playlist around a theme or mood. I asked Alexa+ to build me a playlist with a Fall theme and was generally impressed with the results (though there were some strange inclusions, like „Landslide“ by Fleetwood Mac). 4. News Briefings
Alexa+ is also pretty good at parsing and delivering news. Amazon has partnered with more than 200 outlets, including Reuters, the Associated Press, and The , and can tailor a news package to your preferences. You can get a customized Daily Briefing with everything from political headlines to sports results to news about your favorite entertainment properties.5. Enhanced Memory
It’s also much better at remembering and incorporating previous interactions you’ve had with it into current conversations. For instance, Alexa remembered my negative feedback about a restaurant I’d dined at and mentioned it in a conversation about local Chinese places. It can also recall family recipes, as well as whether you or a family member has a gluten allergy or is a vegetarian.6. Improved Recommendations
There’s also improved Fire TV integration now. You can ask Alexa for general movie recommendations, and it will learn your taste over time. You can also ask more abstract questions for a specific scenario („Alexa, recommend some movies to watch with my dad“). There’s even improved awareness of live content, like sports scores.7. Wellness Integration
Amazon is also trying to find a foothold in the wellness space, with Alexa+ at the vanguard. It can nudge you to work out when it recognizes there’s some free time in your schedule, or gently prod you to start winding down when it gets late. The company plans to expand its wellness offering in the near future through partnerships with Wyze and Withings, which offer smart home devices and medical-grade wellness devices, such as air purifiers and smart scales.3 Other Upgrades to Check OutAlexa.com on the Web
It’s a little late to the game, but Amazon launched Alexa+ for the web during CES 2026. With Alexa.com, you get a chatbot-like interface for Alexa+ that provides responses like you’d expect from ChatGPT or Gemini, while also allowing you to control your Alexa-enabled smart home devices. It is about bringing \u201cthe full power of Alexa+ right to your browser,\u201d Amazon says.Omnisense
The newest Echo devices and Fire TVs include the ominously named Omnisense sensors. These combine technologies like Wi-Fi radar and ultrasound to notice when a specific user enters a room and can provide contextual updates, reminders, or content suggestions, such as turning on the lights and adjusting the temperature on your smart thermostat when it detects your presence. They also include improved noise filtering, making it easier for the device to detect the wake word even in noisy environments.Alexa+ Store
The Alexa+ Store expands on the traditional Amazon digital storefront by including access to apps like DoorDash, TaskRabbit, Uber, Fandango, and more. Connect to your account to shop directly on any of those services, as well as perform tasks like having the AI model book a restaurant reservation or purchase your movie tickets. Do You Need a New Echo or Fire TV?
Whether you need a new Amazon device for Alexa+ will depend entirely on your use case, but personally, I don’t see a pressing need to upgrade quite yet. The Omnisense functionality doesn’t thrill me, and my current-gen Echo Dot is perfectly serviceable for my smart speaker and „ambient AI“ needs.
That said, if you intend to use Alexa+ as the core for a smart home network (especially one that includes Ring or Blink cameras, or a dedicated Fire TV), one of the new displays is a compelling hub, and fairly reasonably priced compared with competing devices.<\/p>\n