Amazon's Alexa+ AI Assistant Launches Nationwide in the U.S., Included With Prime

Amazon has launched Alexa+, its next-generation AI assistant, making the upgraded service available to customers across the United States starting today. As part of the rollout, Amazon is adding Alexa+ as a new benefit for Amazon Prime members at no additional cost.



For customers without a Prime membership, Alexa+ is priced at $19.99 per month. The subscription unlocks the assistant across compatible Echo devices, the Alexa mobile app, and a new web interface at Alexa.com. Amazon is also offering a free Alexa+ chat experience for non-Prime users, providing access to a text-based interface via the web and app with usage limits. Prime members can enable the new assistant by asking their device to "upgrade to Alexa+."


Alexa+ is built on a redesigned backend powered by large language models, including Amazon Nova and models from Anthropic. This new architecture enables more natural conversations, with the assistant able to maintain context across ongoing interactions rather than treating each request as a standalone command. According to Amazon, Early Access users have been using Alexa+ for deeper research, content generation, and more complex queries that were difficult for the previous version to handle.

Amazon is positioning Alexa+ as a more capable productivity tool as well. The assistant can complete multi-step actions such as finding a restaurant and making a reservation, ordering food, or scheduling home services. Smart home integration has also been expanded, allowing Alexa+ to work with Ring cameras to flag unusual activity or scan emails to automatically add events to a shared household calendar.

The launch also lands as rivals ramp up their own consumer AI efforts. Apple is preparing a major overhaul of Siri, which will incorporate a partnership with Google to deliver more advanced conversational capabilities. OpenAI has taken a different approach, recently rolling out a lower-priced ChatGPT Go subscription aimed at consumers.

Amazon's move also comes ahead of Apple's expected expansion in the smart home. The company is reportedly working on a dedicated home hub and camera slated for later this year, with a more ambitious robotic device said to be in development for 2027.