Amazon Launches Alexa+ with Enhanced AI Capabilities for Free to U.S. Prime Members

Amazon has officially launched Alexa+, an upgraded AI-powered version of its Alexa assistant, across the U.S. as of Wednesday.
Prime members have free access to Alexa+ across all devices, while non-Prime users can explore it for free via the Alexa website and mobile app with some restrictions.
Daniel Rausch, VP of Alexa and Echo at Amazon, mentioned that Alexa+ will provide a paid-tier level of access under the Prime membership without additional cost.
Originally announced in 2025, Alexa+ is model agnostic, implying it uses a combination of Amazon’s proprietary AI models and those from other companies to perform more than basic tasks.
Beyond traditional smart home management and information delivery, Alexa+ can now engage in natural conversations, such as planning travel itineraries, updating calendars, finding recipes, and more.
Integrations with services like Ticketmaster, Expedia, and Yelp enable more complex task execution, though numbers regarding user adoption of this autonomous agent feature were not disclosed.
The year-long beta testing showed that while there were some bugs and feedback to address, like excessive chattiness and voice preferences, these were resolved progressively.
User engagement has significantly increased, noted by a 25% rise in music streaming and fivefold growth in recipe engagement.
Non-Prime users have the option to pay $19.99 per month for standalone access, with more limits in place to prevent abuse.
The Alexa+ experience is available on Alexa devices, Echo products, Fire TV, and Alexa-enabled devices from partners like Samsung and Bose, with plans for expansion.