Amazon’s Alexa+ Upgrade: A New Leader Emerges in the AI Voice Assistant Race
Voice assistants have been around for a while, but they’ve often been clunky and limited. Recent advances in generative AI are changing that, and Amazon’s new Alexa+ upgrade may have just put it ahead of the competition, including Apple, Google, and ChatGPT.
Amazon’s Alexa+ is going beyond the basics, adding agentic capabilities that allow the assistant to proactively handle everyday tasks. This upgrade makes the technology easier to access for the average user than what competitors offer.
Here are three key reasons why Alexa+ could change how you interact with AI:
1. Seamless Integration with Existing Devices and Prime Membership
One of the biggest advantages of Alexa+ is that the new features work on existing devices. Users who want to experience the full benefit of the AI enhancements don’t need to buy new hardware. Because many already use Alexa-supported devices, they’re more receptive to an upgraded assistant.
To make the transition even easier, Amazon is including the new services in its Amazon Prime subscription, which costs $14.99 per month or $139 annually. The subscription also includes perks like free two-day shipping, access to major sales events, and Prime Video. Existing Amazon customers with a Prime subscription and Alexa devices can access the upgrades right away.
This contrasts with competitors like Apple, where users must purchase a device with a chipset that can support the features to access the full breadth of Apple Intelligence, a larger financial commitment for users who are unsure about integrating AI into their daily routines. Similarly, ChatGPT Advanced Voice requires a separate $20 monthly subscription.
2. The Most Advanced AI Voice Assistant
Objectively, Alexa+ is the most advanced AI-powered voice assistant available. While similar to other AI models, Alexa+ can conduct human-like conversations, understanding non-linear thought processes and handling multi-turn prompts and interruptions. However, Alexa+ goes further by executing tasks using agentic capabilities. AI agents can perform tasks with minimal instruction, allowing users to autonomously navigate the internet and complete tasks simply by using their voice.
An Amazon example describes a user needing to repair a kitchen appliance. By asking Alexa+ to help arrange the repair, the assistant can navigate the web, use Thumbtack to find a service provider, schedule the repair, and notify the user when it’s booked. Competitors like ChatGPT and Google Gemini, offer similar research features, but cannot complete tasks on the user’s behalf.
“Alexa+ is designed to take action and is able to orchestrate across tens of thousands of services and devices — which, to our knowledge, has never been done at this scale,” said Amazon. “To achieve this, we created a concept called ‘experts’ — groups of systems, capabilities, APIs, and instructions that accomplish specific types of tasks for customers.”
3. Strategic Partnerships with Leading Brands
Amazon has partnered with well-known, trusted companies to improve the practicality and convenience of Alexa’s agentic capabilities. Current partners include Ticketmaster, OpenTable, Vagaro, Amazon Fresh, and UberEats. These partnerships enable Alexa+ to proactively manage everyday tasks. With a simple voice command, users can book restaurant reservations, purchase event tickets, schedule appointments, or order groceries and meals.
During a live demo, a user asked Alexa+ to help order groceries from Amazon Fresh. Alexa+ automatically opened the interface and added items as they were listed. Then, the user could ask Alexa+ what typical ingredients are needed and add them to the cart before placing the final order. These integrations increase the likelihood of adoption by making it easier for the user to incorporate Alexa+ into their daily lives.
