Amazon announces 'Alexa+' with generative AI, available free of charge for Amazon Prime members



At a new product launch event held on February 27, 2025, Amazon announced ' Alexa+ ', an Alexa-based AI-powered device. To use Alexa+, a monthly subscription of $19.99 (approximately 3,000 yen) is required, but if you are an Amazon Prime member, you can use it for free. It will be rolled out in the United States in March 2025, and then gradually rolled out to other countries.

Introducing Alexa+, the next generation of Alexa

https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-alexa-generative-artificial-intelligence

The tech upgrades powering Alexa's new gen AI capabilities
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-alexa-tech-generative-artificial-intelligence

50 Alexa+ features to try out
https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/devices/new-alexa-top-features

Alexa+ is fundamentally different from the traditional voice assistant Alexa, and is a next-generation AI assistant equipped with various large-scale language models and agent functions. Alexa+ does not support 'some older generation Echo devices' such as the first generation Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Tap, Echo Spot, Echo Show, and the second generation Echo Show, but it can be operated on other Echo devices.

Panos Panay, Amazon's head of devices and services, called Alexa+ 'a complete redesign of the AI assistant,' saying, 'The new Alexa knows nearly everything about your life: your schedule, your smart home, your preferences, the devices you use, the people you connect with, and the entertainment you enjoy.'

According to Panay, Alexa+ can understand the tone of voice and the environment around it and instantly adjust its response. For example, it may detect that the user is nervous and offer a bit of humor to calm them down.



The previous Alexa was a voice assistant that allowed you to place orders with Amazon hands-free. In addition to that, Alexa+ can also perform tasks such as 'instructing the device to notify you when a sale on a product you like starts,' 'booking a ride with Uber,' 'searching for tickets to games and concerts through Ticketmaster,' and 'helping friends and family choose gifts based on keywords that interest them.'



You can also create quizzes from study guides, plan trips, and answer questions like, 'What's the best restaurant near me?' These answers are based on your preferences that Alexa has recorded over the years.

Existing features such as the ability to set a timer verbally while cooking have also been enhanced, and unlike the previous Alexa, Alexa+ can set timers for each step of cooking individually. Furthermore, you don't need to tell Alexa a specific time; just say, 'I want my steak cooked medium-done,' and Alexa+ will automatically adjust the timer.

Additionally, devices with displays like the Echo Show can automatically organize and play photo galleries, display updates based on user interests, and even recognize security camera footage to describe what is happening in the field or play back specific moments from the footage.



Also, when watching movies or dramas on Amazon Prime Video from Fire TV, if there was a scene you particularly wanted to see, you had to fast forward it yourself each time. However, if you tell Alexa+ the name of an actor or character, or a line, it will automatically play from that scene. Furthermore, if you ask Alexa+ about the artist or song name of a song that was played in a movie or drama, it will answer on the spot.



In addition, in partnership with AI song generator Suno, Alexa+ can create songs instantly from prompts. A demonstration of Suno's song generation was held at the venue.



The generative AI model used by Alexa+ runs on Bedrock , Amazon Web Services' cloud platform. According to Amazon, Alexa+ is equipped with a system that does not rely on a specific model because it always uses the best AI model for a specific task. Although it has not been revealed what specific models are available, Anthropic, which develops the large-scale language model Claude, said, 'Claude is contributing to Amazon's next-generation AI assistant, Alexa+.'



To use Alexa+, a monthly subscription of $19.99 (approximately 3,000 yen) is required, but it is available for free if you are an Amazon Prime member. It will be rolled out in the United States by March 2025, and then gradually rolled out to other countries. In addition, the Alexa+ subscription comes with access to Alexa.com, which can be accessed from a browser to perform text-based tasks.

Amazon has also announced two features designed for children: 'Explore with Alexa' and 'Stories with Alexa.' 'Explore with Alexa' is a feature that answers questions from children, and 'Stories with Alexa' is a feature that can generate stories for children. 'Explore with Alexa' and 'Stories with Alexa' are available to Prime members for 580 yen per month or 5,800 yen per year, and non-members can use Amazon Kids+ membership for 980 yen per month or 9,800 yen per year.

Related Posts:

in Software,   Web Service, Posted by log1i_yk